Between You and Me
by Hasegawa
Summary: Sentinels, Guides, and Normals. Arthur is an un-bonded sentinels searching for his soul mate. or maybe, a slave. Pairing: UK X China.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Between You and Me

Pairings: UK X China

Betaed by Blind Alchemist! truly a savior! Thank you so much! Also, please check out our combined story together, in my profile page XD.

Background: A crossover between Hetalia (not canon) with Sentinels AU. The idea of Sentinels was taken from this link: .#cutid1

I have declared I don't own the idea of Sentinels, Hetalia or any of its characters. However, the plot and the ending are mine.

Enjoy!

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><p><span>Parte 1 <span>

Arthur looked around him. Nothing to see but a massive sea of dead bodies. What did he expect though? It was the first front line of war after all. And completely comprised of the normal soldiers—the normal humans. They were Normals: weak, but massive in number. That's why they got to be the first in line to die. They were quite worthless.

He stood where he was, and nobody even realized he was there. Yes, he was a member of the particular unique breed of Sentinels that had the ability to disappear by blending into the air. No, people couldn't see him; but he was still a solid body and a bullet could still be aimed at him and hurt him. His fellow Sentinels could detect him by using their keen sense of smell, but normal people would look through him and wouldn't realize he was there. That's why Arthur Kirkland was specifically assigned to spy duty. He was the perfect Sentinel for the job. And he was wearing a bulletproof vest anyway, so he was fine.

As bullets were shot around him, Arthur stood there motionlessly. He was fed up. He didn't like his job. He didn't like being a Sentinel for the Western military at all. He wanted to be Normal, even though being Normal would entail being part of the massive, sea of valueless people. It wasn't as though he hated his Sentinel friends and community; it was 100% the job that got him fed up.

He didn't care about the war, frankly. It was invented by the Normals as a means to control each other. Sentinels, as the community of people with heightened senses and special abilities, used to hold their own neutral stances during these wars. But Sentinels are living weapons; they were bred by nature for one purpose: to protect. They were mostly born from Normal couples; and the majority of Sentinels had close bonds with their normal families. They were forced to choose sides, just because their families were involved in the war. Thus the endless war between the East and the West finally made the Sentinels community divide accordingly into two: East and West. This occurred about two years ago.

His alarm signalled to him that it was lunch time.

It was funny and ironic, Arthur laughed to himself as he stepped away from the first line of the war zone. The Normals were still killing each other and he left the front lines because he was on lunch break. He felt like he was just a common office worker that somehow worked on the first front lines of the war. Weird. Ironic. Sad.

He wanted to go away. He'd had enough.

Yeah, as if. If only he could go away. No, he was burdened by the Sentinels' bond to the Tower. Like its name, the Tower is a high and mighty building, and each country has its own Tower. The Tower is the Sentinels' centre, where all the Sentinels are collected and educated and bonded to their Guide. The Tower gathers Sentinel children from all over the countryside and confines them inside the building. It was safer that way, so that all the children could learn to control their (suddenly) heightened senses and powers, as well as their destructive tendencies. And because the children are collected as soon as they start showing their Sentinel abilities (technically at around 5-6 years of age, although the majority of the sentinels first become aware of their power at around 13-17 years of age), they were bonded by some kind of community family sense to each other and The Tower acted as the 'Main Home' for them. Moreover, Arthur was an orphan who had been rescued from living in a trashcan. He was brought to the Tower when he was around four years old, after he'd incidentally broke a homeless man's finger when the scum tried to have his way with Arthur.

What had exactly happened sounded nearly cliché to the community—the homeless man had screamed, people had noticed, Arthur was brought to the police centre, and then the Sentinels came and got him. After that, Arthur was never hungry or cold anymore, so he was fine with the Tower. The Tower also regularly gave him pocket money and some kind of scholarship, in exchange for a life-time contract dictating that Arthur work for them for the rest of his life. But it was good for Arthur, since he was an orphan with no other means to support himself that time.

But now, he was getting severely fed up of with his job. He knew that the Normals paid the Tower a huge sum of money each year for their assistance in the war. And Arthur, as one of the West Tower's main on-field workers (read: lackey), was assigned to the post straight away. He was nineteen when the job started and he thought it was cool how he'd landed into the middle of the war and got to observe it; but now, after two years of watching, he had become sick and tired of it.

It wasn't just that he didn't like the job. The Sentinels are people with enhanced senses and special powers. And the sharpened senses sometimes brought them into another kind of hell. Because of his sharp hearing, he could listen to the Lieutenant laughing in his tent, safe and comfortable and protected from the reality of his war, twenty miles from where he stood. He could even listen to the radiowaves, and worst of all he could hear the slowing heart beats of the dying soldiers, the Normals who cried and called their Gods' names in their last breath. He could clearly see all the details, the splashed blood all over the fields, drip by drip; how the bullets ripped the Normals' skulls; and all the details jammed his senses until he didn't know what to focus on. His sense of smell was the worst. He was nauseated by the smell of sweat, fear, blood and gushing intestines all around him. The gun powder, the smoke, the fire; everything smelled of hell. He used to be scared of his own senses before he was taught in the Tower on how to eliminate the unimportant inputs.

But the ultimate thing that the Tower provided for its Sentinels was the Guide. The Guide is another breed of human who is actually weaker and softer than a Normal, as well as smaller and gentler. However, most importantly, they are able to control the Sentinels. They provide the weaknesses that Sentinels are naturally bound to protect, and in return, the Guide can 'guide' and provide comfort and relief to the Sentinels' disturbingly heightened senses. It was common for Sentinels and Guides to end up being each other's life partners, because Sentinels are famous for their possessiveness. A Sentinel and a Guide are like lock and key; each Sentinel needs their own Guide. There used to be as many Guides as there were Sentinels; however, Guides became scarcer as each generation passed. Since Sentinels were generally viewed as the more valuable of the two, more Sentinels were bred out. Furthermore, there was a foolish stereotype that Guides were for the weak, and Sentinels were forced to make do without the Guides. At that time, many Guides were neglected, killed and massacred because they were viewed as the 'weaker' and 'more feminine' species, although Guides could be males too. The real, cynical truth was, Normals found Sentinels easier to control when they didn't have their Guide to show them the right way.

Aggressiveness, possessiveness and hot bloodedness were the core characteristics of Sentinels.

The Tower tried their best to get acquire as many Guides as possible; but Guides nowadays didn't want to be caught. They were afraid that if the Normals discovered their existence, they would be killed; and they were afraid that if the Sentinels found them, they would be brought to the Tower and be imprisoned there for life. Now that the Guides were scarce, the country laws were changed to basically remove every single human right a Guide previously held, in the name of 'protecting' the balance between Normals and Sentinels. If a Guide were to be bonded to a Sentinel, he/she would become his/her Sentinel's doormat, or slave, so to speak. So either way they were screwed, and thus, nowadays Guides were even harder to find.

The Tower provided a single Guide per every twenty Sentinels. It was nowhere near enough, of course, but it was still helpful in guiding Sentinels that were nearing their limit to control themselves. Especially Sentinels the likes of Arthur, who faced the grim reality of war scene every single day. So Arthur was bonded to the Tower because the Tower provided everything he needed and the Tower was the only place he belonged.

He ran fast throughout the land. Nobody saw him; because he was still in his blending mode. He wanted to go away, become truly invisible, and live his own life inside the woods; but his need to be guided was too strong, especially given that he was still young, with immature self-control tendencies. He wanted to bond with his very own Guide, and not only Francis Bonnefoy, the Guide that was provided currently for him. He wanted his own Guide whom he could protect and be loved and cared for in return. Arthur was jealous of the higher up Sentinels who got their own Guides. He wanted someone too… someone he could depend on.

His stomach grumbled. Arthur sighed. Maybe it was really time for lunch. He still needed to run about half an hour with his Sentinel's power to reach the nearest city to get some decent lunch and tea. Maybe he should eat some salad today; he wasn't in the mood to see any meat, because the view of all the dead bodies had erased his appetite.

The wind was blowing softly; Arthur could smell the grass, and the fainter smell of blood and gunpowder. But another smell slipped in. It was sweet, purely sweet, as if though he'd gotten a vanilla-flavored candy under his nose. It was quite faint, but that also meant he wasn't terribly far away from the source. And the smell was intoxicating. Arthur stopped in his tracks to sniff, and he was rewarded with a longer, more prolonged waft. And it was so good, almost tickling his longing for intimacy.

It was the scent of an un-bonded Guide.

Unconsciously, Arthur followed the smell.

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><p>Yao pulled his son closer. They were hiding behind the trees and rocks. It wasn't much, but with their small bodies, they could crawl behind the rocks and trees and the Normals couldn't see them.<p>

They were running away. Yes, they were trying to escape the ridiculous war between the East and the West. Ever since the war had started, the Eastern side where Yao came from changed from a mostly agricultural country into a purely militaristic one. Every man was required to enter military service and the women were forced to work on the land and provide food for the soldiers. And Yao was not spared, even though his wife had just given birth to a baby boy and had died in labour.

Yao didn't want to enter the military and leave his son alone; moreover, since he had no other family member to depend on, his baby would surely be sent to the military orphanage and be trained to be a soldier. He didn't want that, his baby was just two years old, for Tian's sake! His baby needed him, and he needed his baby.

He knew he was a Guide. He could sense it himself and was aware of the Sentinels ever since he turned eighteen. He was a naturally beautiful and feminine man; his parents had tried their best to make Yao look more masculine, but they'd failed. He grew and grew more beautiful and feminine each year; until everybody started to suspect his true nature as a Guide. His parents didn't want to admit that their only son was a Guide, because if it were true, Yao could be either killed or taken in by the Tower in their country. In desperation, they married Yao with a daughter of a small local family.

It was a short marriage, but they were kind to each other. Yao loved his wife like he would a little sister; and his wife knew it and was satisfied with it. They were about to have their first son when she died, and then the war erupted. The boiling tension between the East and West had existed for decades, but it was only two years ago that they decided to wage war against each other. Their village was destroyed during one of the battles, and tragically Yao's parents were killed in the attack. Yao had saved himself by using his Guide sense, the one that had made him so sensitive to nature, rendering him able to detect the presence of any human in a five-mile radius from his sides. He ran away from village to village and tried to blend in, sometimes posing as a woman to survive. But a woman with her baby attracts quite a lot of attention; especially as he was far too pretty, even by usual women's standard.

Until recently he stayed in a small village nearby, but then the area became the first front line of war and the soldiers, both from the East and West, came into the village and selfishly took everything they wanted—food, clothing, and women. Yao was not spared, because they thought he was a woman. Yao so far had successfully eluded those soldiers by using his ability to blend in, making the soldiers fall asleep whenever they started touching him; but they became even more curious and persisted, starting to disturb him more.

Yao didn't want them to know about his Guide ability. But without his Guide ability, he couldn't survive. And since he had used it so many times, the soldiers became even more intrigued and the last time they raided the village, they brought a Sentinel with him. Yao could sense it; the Sentinel smells felt so strong and intoxicating, making his own body melt with neediness. He almost came out from his hiding place to welcome the Sentinel. But he was brought to his common senses when his son suddenly whimpered and started to cry. Yao knew that he couldn't stay much longer. Once a Sentinel appeared, the rest would follow. And he knew he couldn't reject a Sentinel's appearance next time.

So Yao ran away to the woods, hoping that maybe he could make it somewhere deep inside the woods, or maybe to another village where Easterners and Westerners weren't fighting. He was too naïve, of course, but he didn't have the privilege of reading the latest news, as his last village was a small and traditional one. The baby in his arms was sobbing, but Yao blew his face gently, trying to soothe his child.

"Sleeping child…" Yao started to hum. The baby slowly went to sleep. Yao watched as his son started to close his eyes. And he wondered whether they should continue to go forward deeper into the wood or wait for the next day. The woods and rocks around them could provide a better place to stay the night. If he moved forward, the wood would become even thinner and more exposed to Normals.

Well, maybe sleeping there wouldn't be that bad. He was tired anyway, from running all day…

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><p>Review?<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

I submit this for The EnglandXChina-FC in deviant Art's fantasy contest! Please support me ~~ XD Vote me there?

Thank you so much for my beta Blind Alchemist! She really is a saviour, nee?

Love you and Kaya~~~ by the way, me and Blind Alchemist wrote a smut/suspense story in our joint account! Please see there!

Enjoy!

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><p>Arthur looked at the quite dense forest in front of him. The smell came so strongly from inside. And it seemed to be static, which means the Guide was either hurt or resting or staying in one place. But just to be safe, Arthur turned on his ability to blend in, so that the Guide wouldn't be able to see him or smell him to some degree.<p>

The forest was quite silent, as if they were blissfully ignorant about the battle that was being fought a mere ten miles from there. Arthur was not the best Sentinel to operate in a wooden forest, but his sense of smell guided him strongly to the source of the delicate smell. It got strong and stronger, and his blood became hotter. It was so near, his mate… his Guide… his precious. Long ago, the rituals of bonding between Sentinels and Guides were sacred and revered, and could endure many years in length until they both received each other fully. But due to the decreasing number of Guides, the Sentinels were now able to bond and mate right on the spot to mark his/her own Guide.

Arthur grinned. His pants became tight. He knew, whether it were a man or woman, a Guide would be submissive. And Arthur, although not a virgin physically (but almost—Francis was way too perverted and a slutty to begin with), was an emotional virgin. He was sure that this un-bonded Guide would be his mate forever. The smell was so sweet, even more intoxicating than Francis'.

But then he sensed another smell, a smaller, human smell. His mind became eluded and rage entered his mind. He was that close to his Guide! He wouldn't let it be taken by some other Sentinels or Normals! His speed picked up, his rage grew even more explosive. He didn't care that he was making more noises than before; in his mind was just tracking his lovely Guide. He would own the Guide, no matter what.

He rushed into the forest. It took him twenty minutes to find the source of the smell.

He slowed down when he found it. He could see a woman, an Eastern woman, lying on the ground behind a big rock. She looked fragile and gentle and small, just like a stereotypical Guide. And inside her arms, a bundle of small child was sleeping quietly. Both mother and son looked like they were in bliss.

Rage entered his head. When he saw the baby, Arthur knew at once that his Guide had already been claimed by someone else, at least by a human. His Guide was already taken by a human. His Guide had a lover already. It was unacceptable.

Filled with rage, he grabbed the woman's arms and pinned it them up over her head. The woman's Guide's senses kicked in, and she quickly opened her eyes. And Arthur found that even though she was an Easterner, she had golden, yellowish eyes instead of dark brown. The woman struggled, but they both knew that Guides were even weaker than normal humans. She stood no chance against her Sentinel captor.

Suddenly, as though he were drugged, Arthur felt a terrible, overwhelming wave of relief. He felt at peace, as if the whole world suddenly simply turned into sparkles and whiteness and peacefulness. His eyes were getting droopy; all he wanted to do was to sleep and smile. He felt really, really sleepy. His eyelids fell down, slowly, and his strength decreased.

Suddenly he caught the look of helplessness within the golden eyes.

Realizing that it had all been a trick, Arthur steeled his senses and instead of sending bonding signals to the woman, he pushed his scent and rubbed himself roughly onto the woman, who was now lying underneath him, on the soil. The woman realized that she'd failed in trying to lull him to sleep, so she opened her mouth to shout.

But Arthur was quicker. He kissed the soft lips, trying to dig in as much as he could. His tongue forced itself into her mouth, and it was very soft; even softer than Francis's. He flicked his tongue and tasted the woman, thrusting into her mouth. It was hard for both of them to fight against their instincts.

"Ahn…!" the woman whimpered.

The voice surprised Arthur because it was a male voice instead of a woman's. And he knew that the Eastern society had weird traditions, including letting the males grow their hair to long lengths. So this Guide was actually a man.

Arthur didn't care. He kept forcing himself on the man and trying to bond. He released all his pheromones, and true to their natures, both of them felt the sudden, urgent longing to bond, to mate—as though they were born for each other. The woman slash man moaned and pulled his face up, exposing his bare neck. It was the universal sign of the Guide surrendering to their Sentinels.

Arthur smiled. This was it. This was the moment, he was no longer alone, this was the moment he would bond and be a complete man. He had found his Guide, the one that would complete him, physically and mentally. And he jabbed his naturally-lengthened fangs for mating into the man's smooth neck.

Their senses met; their blood mixed. Arthur suddenly found the himself at peace; suddenly every heightened sense he used to have became a bit duller, not by much but it was a great relief nonetheless. He felt very relaxed, comfortable, and very, very lustful over the body underneath him. The man writhed, and Arthur remembered the Tower's teachings that Guides felt a great pleasure when their respective Sentinels dropped their burdens on them. Guides were born to pleasure and to make Sentinels feel more comfortable, and in return, Mother Nature gave them the greatest orgasm-like bliss.

And now the pleasure turned into something else, a longing for more. Arthur felt the need to touch, to lick, and to insert himself into the body underneath him. He impatiently tore away the man's Eastern outfit, revealing a flat chest with two pink nipples. With no hesitation, Arthur started to suck, licking and feeling the erect little nubs.

The man moaned even louder; his blush travelled all the way to the base of his neck; Arthur felt proud of himself for making the man look like that. The pleasure must have been unbearable, because the man's feet were linked around Arthur's waist, pulling Arthur closer, as if saying that he needed more. And Arthur gladly obliged. His own member was already tight and uncomfortably confined by his pants.

Without further ado, he tore off his own pants and his cock was already hard, ready to enter. But they were disturbed by the sudden wailing from across the clearing.

Arthur felt like his ears were being torn apart. He hated wailing children. They were noisy and they cried in high decibels. But then he suddenly felt the bond being broken; the Guide beneath him has let go of his legs, and he was trying to cover himself.

"Stop… please… aru…"

"No. I want to consummate this bond now," Arthur roared impatiently.

"My baby is crying, aru…"

"I don't care. I will kill it if you don't listen to me!"

And Arthur immediately regretted his own actions. The man looked so hurt and in such pain and such hate. He struggled and Arthur was taken aback by the sudden struggling, so he let go. The feminine Eastern man pulled the baby into his arms and tried to crawl away, but unluckily for him, Arthur was faster.

"Don't run."

"Kill me first! If you kill my baby I will kill myself!"

"Listen,…" Arthur didn't even know the name of the man, yet he wanted to bond to him so much.

"I hate you! I hate you, aru! I hate Sentinels like you!"

"I am sorry." Arthur found himself apologizing. "I won't harm your baby."

"Go away, aru! Please! I can't go to the Tower, aru, my baby is still too small! Please have mercy on me! Please!"

"But you have already bonded with me."

The Easterner blushed deeply when he heard the sentence. Arthur knew he would. They were already bonded. Now Arthur could sense him anywhere in the world and he would know straight away where the man was. The reciprocate was also true.

"Please… Please let my son live. Let me take care of him, please…"

Arthur let his arms enfold the man's body. The Guide's body was warm and it was still so sweet, still spreading pheromones to finish their mating process. Arthur basked in the scent and he knew that he couldn't let go. He wouldn't want any other Tower-given Guides anymore, he didn't want his assigned Guide (aka Francis) anymore, he wanted this man, his own Guide, his personal Guide.

"I'm Arthur. Arthur Kirkland. What's… What's your name?"

"…Yao. Wang Yao, aru."

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><p>Yao clutched his baby closer to his chest, almost suffocating the child. But he was still unsure about his own condition, since Arthur didn't say anything but took them to a small inn in the nearest village. A Western village.<p>

In their little hotel room, Arthur took a seat in the chair and faced Yao.

"Look, I know you don't want to be in the Tower," Arthur started. "I don't want it either. I am still a low rank Sentinel and they won't let me keep you as my personal Guide. I think it's better that you stay here first, and after I get my own place, you can come with me."

Yao pretended he didn't understand and stayed still.

"I know you still don't trust me since our mating process was halted. But please trust me. I respect you enough to stop and bring you here. But please understand that we need to mate tonight, otherwise your Guide scent could still be sensed by other Sentinels around. At least after we mate, your scent will be covered by mine, so they wouldn't know, or wouldn't dare to touch you."

"…Would you let me keep my baby?"

"…" Arthur stared at the small baby. How fortunate he the infant was. He got Yao, a parent who loved him so much that Yao wouldn't even let him go from his arms. Arthur was a trashcan baby, so something like that—the tender, protective arms of a parent—were something alien and somehow unfathomable to him.

"…Yes, you may keep the baby."

He didn't regret his decision then, because suddenly Yao smiled so happily with teary eyes.

"Thank you, aru."

"What.. What's his name?" Arthur stuttered, feeling bashful over the smile of his Guide.

"His name is Kiku, aru. He is two years old."

"…He is cute."

"Right, aru?" Yao beamed with pride.

Arthur could only chuckle. His heart was torn into two, from both happiness and jealousy.

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><p>Review?<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

This one is quite long. The deadline for the contest is 31 August, but I dont think I can finish this by then. I am really dissapointed in myself (in real life) because I dont live up to my own expectation. SO I ask your forgiveness if the next chapter is rather long. That include 'Chased by Nightmare' newest chapter too.

Enjoy!

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><p>His lunch time has finished and he needed to resume his post as the spy on the front line. So he opted to leave Yao in the hotel room, forcing the man to promise him that he wouldn't leave the hotel room, and that he needed to cover his hair as much as possible, since Yao's black hair was a clear indication that he was an Eastern.<p>

Yao promised everything Arthur asked. Arthur went out to try the lock on the door. He made sure that the door couldn't be opened from inside, so that Yao didn't have the option to run. And he locked the window too, just to make sure Yao wouldn't climb down, or his scent wouldn't come out from the small hotel room.

Yao watched the whole locking ritual meekly. He knew that he was a prisoner now. They had bonded. Although it hasn't been consummated and he still have a chance to run away (since Arthur's scent hasn't covered his), but he was sure that Arthur would be more than keen to pursue him once he went out. And he couldn't run much from the sentinels, since they had bonded and now he was 'owned' by Arthur-they could sense each other's presence anywhere, anytime.

"I… I wouldn't run away, aru."

It was a sad tone, Arthur noticed. He knew what he was doing was like catching a precious exotic bird and put it into a cage. Not a golden cage, even. It was only a small inn room. But it was all he could afford that time, and he was in a rush to return. He wouldn't want to arouse suspicion from other sentinels of why he suddenly rent an inn room in his lunch time.

It was true that Sentinels can marry and reproduce with Normals; it was the increasing trends since there were so few of Guides left, although usually their offspring have less than 10% chance to be a sentinel. It was not advised, since sentinels have really volatile temper and Normals spouses are helpless against sentinel's power. Arthur could just justified that he got a Normal girlfriend and was having 'fun time' with her, but he couldn't erase the fact that Yao smelled deliciously like a non/half-bonded guide. And he was possessive; both as a sentinel and as a human. Born as a sentinel made him possessive yet his background turned Arthur into an even more possessive man. It wasn't like he didn't believe in Yao enough; it was just that he couldn't believe just a simple promise. Promises were nothing; just an empty hope and Arthur had enough empty hope to know that hope is just hope. They never turned into reality.

"Stay here." Arthur refused to answer or acknowledge Yao's promise. He felt the need to physically make sure that Yao couldn't left the room if he wanted to. He could put a lock outside the door, but that would be vandalism towards the inn's property and would cause another problem. "…I will be back in five hours."

Yao nodded and put his son on the bed. His son was deeply asleep, ignorant, or maybe still didn't understand the tension inside the room. Arthur watched them in mixed feelings, and went out of the room.

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><p>His mind was half way someplace else.<p>

Despite his try to concentrate on observing the war, Arthur couldn't help but always checking the presence of Yao miles away from him. So far Yao hadn't move, the other end of the bond was still staying on the same place. Is lack of concentration as noted by some of his sentinels mates; but they didn't point it out since Arthur was famous for his introvert, mysterious attitude.

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><p>He couldn't content his rush when the war ended, just as funny as lunch time; once the clock struck five p.m., he rushed back to the village inn. He has finished his job for the day, unlike his sentinel mates who went back to the Tower to rest and be calmed by their common guides.<p>

He rushed and run like it was the last thing he could do. He cursed himself for not being able to be faster, despite his speed that was already way above Normals and quite fast compare to other sentinel. Of course since his exceptional ability was to blend in, Arthur was slow compared to other sentinels with the ability of speed. He cursed himself, wishing that he was born with multiples abilities. It was impossible of course, since every sentinel had their own uniqueness.

Once he reached the inn, breath heavy and rushed, heart thumping like craze; Arthur immediately went up to the room. The bond was getting stronger; he could feel it with his entire body. The door was still locked and Yao's scent was faint; however the feeling of bond between them was strongly felt through the door. His heightened senses were tuned down immediately; a great relief washed thought him. It felt like whatever waiting for him behind the door was a sheer paradise of comfort.

Arthur bit his lips, wondering why he was impatient and yet so expectant, as he opened the door.

"Welcome back, aru."

Arthur held his breath. Being welcomed when he returned from work was something new. In the Tower, the sentinels are put in their individual rooms, separated due to their volatile temper. Also, since majority—almost 95 percent—of sentinels are male, they usually don't share feelings or such; despite forming deep friendship and healthy competition amongst each other. Even the female sentinels mostly acted and felt like their males equals, so it wasn't wrong to categorize sentinels as mostly males.

"H..Hi."

His guide was still sitting on the bed, looking all beautiful and fragile. Arthur closed the door behind him.

"Where is your son?"

"He is asleep, aru."

"Oh."

The silent afterwards made Arthur felt uncomfortable. Was he right? Is Yao his destined guide? Or was he wrong? Or maybe he wasn't destined to have any guide? He was a trashcan baby after all.

"I want to say something, aru." Suddenly Yao spoke, and Arthur perked up. He unconsciously took his seat beside the bed like in the afternoon, and watched as Yao slowly explained himself.

"I will be your personal guide, aru. This is my appreciation for you allowing me to have my son, aru. I promise I won't run away, and I will follow whatever your wish me to do. But I want you to promise something, aru."

Arthur's silent forced Yao to continue.

"Please don't harm my son. I want him to be near me, at least until he is grown enough to take care of himself."

Arthur nodded. "Fair enough." He whispered. But he knew he was already lost. His Guide was in love with someone else. His Guide was having someone else beside him whom he treasured. Arthur wasn't Yao's most important person.

Could he fully bond with that kind of vagueness? Can he really achieve what he wanted all along? Would Yao devote himself to Arthur fully?

_No._

Arthur swallowed hard. Yao watched him, in silence. The Eastern man could guess what was inside his Sentinel's mind. Guides can sense the mood of their partners, although they were not yet bond fully.

"..Arthur,"

Arthur turned to look at Yao. He felt himself melting. Yes, his Guide was very beautiful. Golden eyes watched him like a cat.

"Should we… continue, aru?"

"You sure? I won't stop even if your baby is crying."

"His name is Kiku, aru. Please call him Kiku. And yes, I am sure. I believe in you, Arthur. I know you are not a bad man."

Arthur felt the bond initiated by Yao. The smaller man's hands were already caressing Arthur's cheek, gently massaging the tight muscle.

"Relax, aru."

"…You are very experienced, aren't you?" Arthur asked in bitterness. Maybe he was destined never to have a virgin partner.

"Not really, aru. I only did it with one girl before."

"…Do you still love her?"

Yao smiled sadly. "I was never in love with her. How could I? But she was precious, yes. She was like a sister to me."

"…Why?" Arthur felt he was gushed by waves of peacefulness. "Why couldn't you love her?"

Yao's smile changed into a shy one. "I am born as a Guide, aru. I am born to mate with you."

Arthur's tension decreased. He pushed himself forward, nearer to Yao and they could feel each other's warmth. The bond was connected, and it was perfect. Their lips met.

Yao closed his eyes, surrendering his everything to his new 'partner'.

He finally surrendered into his own destiny. He was owned.

* * *

><p>Yao gently caresses the—his—Sentinel's hair. Arthur was sleeping soundly, it was clear that he was tired. Yao sensed that the bond and their mating have made Arthur considerably relaxed, so he tried to be as still as possible so that he wouldn't disturb his new 'partner'.<p>

He finally surrendered. He finally bonded.

Maybe it was good, in a way. At least Arthur has promised him about Kiku's safety. Although he knew that he had no guarantee that Arthur would keep his promises, but Yao chose to believe him. Yao was getting tired of running. Having a Sentinels bonded to him was an easy way to get shelter and food and protection. Also, even though he could still mate with other Sentinels, the bond between him and Arthur would force other Sentinels to be more careful around Yao. Because now Yao is Arthur's, so if anybody dared to cross Yao, he/she would be Arthur's nemesis.

Arthur whimpered in his sleep. Maybe he was having a bad dream. Yao smiled and hushed his partner, taking all the depression and anxiety into him. He pushed the dream away, and giving his calming warmth towards Arthur. The Sentinel looked better.

The Eastern man hugged his Sentinel tighter. Arthur was not bad. Not bad at all, even in Eastern standard. Very handsome, actually. And his built, just like any other Sentinels, were sturdy and hard and strong. Yao felt safe being in Arthur's arms. And their mating was the best feeling he ever had. His last wife weighed nothing against his session with Arthur. And he was quite embarrassed for himself, since he was so eager to receive Arthur's seed. He wondered if he was actually a woman, then he would be pregnant by then and there. Their night session was quite messy and rowdy; but luckily his baby was not awoken and lie still inside the small basket beside their bed. Their bodies were compatible but their bond was still not as strong as it should be.

Though Arthur's possessiveness was several degrees above the Sentinel's normal level, but Yao could sense Arthur's kindness and his will to compromise. Yao could read, of course, that Arthur was sad because Yao wasn't his only; but despite such a possessive thinking, Arthur still compromised and promised him about his baby's safety.

Arthur was a good man, Yao sighed. He wondered whether it was luck that he got to meet Arthur. Yao had been running from his fate. He married a girl, hurt her because he couldn't romantically love her and killed her because she gave birth to his son. He was a scum, a coward who couldn't accept his fate as a Guide. He wanted something better, he hated his Guide abilities. But now he surrendered to his fate and mated with the Sentinel, the first Sentinel he saw since he crossed the border. And why did that happen?

Because he was weak and coward. He wanted protection and he wanted it in the easy way. Of course, it was also a gamble. Arthur could be a 'Hunter', the Sentinels whose special ability is to hunt the Guides. This ability was a new evolution forced by the scarcity of Guide. And if Arthur was a Hunter, then Yao would be inside the Tower in no time, forced to receive twenty Sentinels as his husbands.

He prayed he had chosen the right choice.

* * *

><p>When he opened his eyes in the morning, Arthur could sense that he wasn't alone in the room. Someone else was there. <em>He might get killed.<em> Panicking, he woke up abruptly, but relaxed back when he realized that it was Yao beside him.

Yao smelled like milk and musk and Arthur. Feeling quite content with the last scent, Arthur noticed the bundle on Yao's arms. His baby was gushing down some milk Yao spooned for him. Yao looked at Arthur and smiled.

"Good morning, aru. I am sorry I disturb your sleep. It's still quite early."

Arthur turned to the clock beside the bed. It was quite early, but not that early. He could take a bath in leisure before returned back to the war.

"Where did you get the milk, Yao?"

The Eastern man blushed. "I have some left in my bag. But… I… I think I need … Uhm…"

Arthur noticed his discomfort. Shy? He asked the bond between them, feeling Yao's unwillingness to ask him about something.

"What?" Arthur asked. "What do you want me to do?"

"No, nothing, aru."

"Yao." Arthur tried to smile, hoping that Yao would soon learn to receive him deeper, "I cannot read your mind. I am not a Guide. But I know you want me to do something. Please tell me. I am yours now."

Yao blushed even deeper and Arthur sensed another feeling tangled inside their bond. A sudden tingle on his crotch made him realized that Yao was aroused.

"Do you want me?" Arthur smirked. Yao was flabbergasted.

"NO, aru!" The Eastern man shrieked, clearly embarrassed judging from his reddish cheek. "I mean I need to get some baby necessities and food, aru!"

"Ah." Arthur nodded. He pulled himself out of bed and went to his trousers. After he found his wallet, Arthur pulled out all cash he got and put it on the table. "You can use these at the moment. I will bring more after coming here tonight."

"I…I am sorry, aru." Yao blushed, embarrassed because he felt like a beggar asking for money. They might be partners now, but he still has his Eastern pride of never asking other people money.

"No need to say sorry, Yao. I am more than happy to provide for you."

"Bu…But… do you think I can get a job here, aru?"

"No. I forbid you from doing so." Arthur sternly answered. "You are not safe out there. You will stay here and wait for me. I will try to get my own flat by this weekend, and then we could life there for the mean time. Oh bloody hell, I forgot about your black hair. Yao, just stay here for the day, alright? I will ask the inn keeper to give you food and the baby stuffs later. You stay here. Don't forget to cover your hair when the inn keeper delivers the stuff, alright?"

Yao bit his lips and nodded. He felt like a pet.

And he realized that he unconsciously let the feeling transferred into their bond. Yao quickly recovered and noted to himself that he should be more cautious in the future. After bonding, what he thought wasn't his alone. Arthur could sense it and vice versa.

Arthur noticed the discomfort again, although it was immediately gone from their bond. He kept quiet, because he knew it took time. Actually he didn't know what to say or do. He wanted Yao to depend on him, to believe him. Was it too much to ask? And he knew he couldn't believe Yao's promise of not running away either. So either way, both of them didn't believe each other.

So he went to the bath and took his time. When he came out of it, he was surprised to see Yao already preparing his yesterday outfit, nice and warm on the bed.

"I tried to iron it for you, aru. I used the hot water filled mugs over there." Yao told him. "I think you should get some spares so that I can help you prepare it every morning, aru."

Arthur held his breath. He was feeling funny. Was he happy that somebody was taking care of him?

So he dressed up, watching Yao placed his baby gently on the basket. The Eastern man then helped him to put his jacket on. Yao asked him whether Arthur needs something else, and Arthur declined the offer. But he told Yao that he could listen to the radio or rest for the whole day before Arthur's return.

He was ready to leave (after making sure the window was locked and Yao was safe inside) just when Yao suddenly rushed to him and kissed his cheek.

"…have a safe trip, aru."

Arthur's heart immediately filled with a strange feeling. What was that? Warmth?

He nodded and went out, locking the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Strangely, he found his work felt easier that day. And his mind always fleet back to the inn room where his Guide resided. Whenever he could feel Yao's presence, he felt reassured and suddenly inspired. Something within himself was pushing up, to perform better. and weirdly, the morning turned so fast. In no time, his alarm rung, signalling lunch break.<p>

The war hasn't changed; it was still the pushing between two sides. Nobody wanted to lose or retreat, so Arthur could sense the tiredness of soldiers reaching their limits around him tripled compared to yesterday. Normals are such a weak creature. Arthur looked around and found that not far from where he was, a bunch of Sentinels were fighting each other.

The protocol dictated that Eastern Sentinels wore red uniform and Western Sentinels wore Blue. From Normals' point of view, the whole blue and red flashes around each other, fighting and killing their enemies. It was violating the agreement, of course. The Sentinels weren't supposed to kill or hurt Normals. But both sides turned their faces onto the other way. Since Sentinels are the best killing machine, in no time blood bath appeared around them.

Arthur swiftly dodged the bullets that came to his side. The Normals behind him received the shot and his head exploded. Arthur hissed. The blood felt warm on his back. If it kept happening, he wouldn't be able to blend in. And suddenly another shot exploded beside him; and the blood coloured his supposed to be transparent arm into red. Arthur noticed that the sniper probably targeting him. Apparently there were some Sentinels of the opposite side who knew he was there and wanted to wipe out his camouflage. Arthur could only retreat for the time being.

Hissing in irritation, Arthur decided that he would deal with the bastard once he came back from his lunch break.

* * *

><p>The Tower in front of him was still the same, of course. Yet Arthur felt like a whole different man. Maybe his previous need to bond has gone, and so Tower felt nothing more than just another place where he could sleep. Or used to sleep.<p>

It took half an hour to get there, and Arthur felt like he had wasted another precious time he should be spending with his lovely Guide. He paced up his steps, knowing that nobody would ask him or his act. They were all busy and quite individualistic; and it was war anyway, so everybody was busy with their own business.

His body reeked of blood; but because every Sentinel who went back to Tower on their lunch break smelled like gunpowder and blood, nobody cared anymore. They adapted to the smell. Arthur entered his small cubicle; it was a normal, one bed room. His clothes were everywhere; he wasn't the tidiest Sentinel around. Hastily he took some of the shirts around, for Yao to take care; and then he realized maybe it was better for him if he took a shower before meeting Yao. There would be baby waiting for him afterall.

"I missed you."

"Fuck off." Arthur hissed. Without even looking, he could already smell and sense the other man's presence.

"Where were you last night?"

"Oh? You remember? Did the usual orgy not fun enough?" Arthur answered in sinister.

Francis laughed. He looked flamboyant as usual, wearing all the stuff that his 'boys' (unbounded Sentinels) bought for him. "No. Usually you are the most eager to have it, aren't you, Arthur?"

"Go away. I need a shower."

"I could smell someone else on your skin."

Arthur wondered why Francis had such a keen sense of smell. His body was covered in blood, it should be more than enough coverage for other Sentinels to not smell Yao on him.

"None of your concern."

"Did you get a Normal girlfriend?" Francis smiled. "…or did you actually bond yesterday night? Oh my, this is news!"

Arthur paled and he strikes. Francis was down on the floor the next moment, and the door was closed behind them.

"Don't you dare to tell anybody about this."

Francis regained his composure. "Don't be harsh to me. You need to thank me for the last thirteen years of our bond, you know."

"I know, but now I have my own Guide. Don't tell anyone."

"They will know eventually."

"Yes." Arthur hissed in pain. "But not now. I still…"

"You still want to monopolize him? How romantic." Francis smiled sadly. "If only I was caught by a Sentinel like you."

"Please."

Francis watched as the proud Sentinel bowed his head, begging him, a Guide, to keep a secret. Francis sighed. He has a soft side for Arthur. The boy was one of the coldest Sentinels, the one who couldn't get along with the other just because of his history. Arthur begging him meant the Guide bonded to him was important enough to surrender his pride to.

"Fine. But let me know him. I can teach him how to treat you better."

"No need. He knows so much."

"Oh? Which Tower he came from? Another Tower in the South?"

"No. He… He used to be married. He has a baby."

Francis was taken aback. He never thought Arthur would settle for used goods. "To a Sentinel or Normal?"

"Normal."

"Oh. So he never went to any Tower then?"

"Yes."

"More than enough reason to let me teach him. He is still innocent to his own power. I can teach him how to protect himself from Sentinels and Normals. Also, how to calm you down."

Arthur looked away. Francis laughed.

"I promise I won't take him away from you, Arthur. Relax."

"…"

"But it is a hassle since I cannot go out from Tower. How about if I write a letter and you can give it to him? You can be out postman."

"Never."

"Well, it's just a suggestion; but keep in mind, Arthur. They will bound to know. And they will take your Guide away from you. You are in no position to be granted the ownership of a single Guide. You will need to share. And a baby? I guess the baby will be thrown away to orphanage. Or worst, killed."

"K…Killed?"

Francis smiled sadly. "You don't know, do you? We Guides have it harsher than you. To detach us from the world, the rest of our family is either bribed, or killed. We are supposed to be kept inside the tower like a pet. We shouldn't be outside. Do you think I have a family outside this wall?"

Arthur shook his head in silence. Francis could feel the guilt coming out from Arthur, inside their weak bond. Now that Arthur didn't need him anymore, their bond weakened into a platonic one. Very fragile, yet gentle bond.

"Just let me help you, mon cherie."

* * *

><p>Review?<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

I am so sorry for being slow. I have three presentations in one day and mid semester exams the next (and it was pharmacology, neuroscience and physiology combined together-you can wonder how did I survive).

To China Gamer Girl: Yes, I never mentioned why suddenly Francis knew Yao was a man. It was a blunder on my prat. or maybe because Francis' instinct? LOL.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Parte 4<p>

"Arthur… wake up, aru…" Yao tried to wake Arthur, whose head was deeply buried in his flat chest. "Arthur…"

"I don't want to go to work."

Yao smiled at the selfish demand. Arthur has changed, in a matter of weeks. He used to be the scary sentinels who imprisoned Yao inside a small inn, but two days after that they moved into a small, comfortable apartment. And although Arthur still not allowed Yao to go anywhere without him, he gave Yao more freedom and provided a safe place for both Yao and small Kiku. Furthermore, Arthur's attitude changed 180 degree, from a cold, aloof dominating Sentinel, into a meek, spoiled, demanding kid. As much as Yao was amused, Arthur's new attitude was quite cute.

The downhill was that Arthur became less and less able to separate himself from Yao during the day. Mornings were always a problem, because Arthur mostly pretended he was still asleep and refused to go to work. Just like that day.

"It's Monday and you need to work, aru."

"I will call in sick and stay here for the whole day. I want to be with you, Yao."

"Arthur, this is not good, aru. You called in sick on Friday too."

"Don't mind. It's fine. Let's play twenty questions morning version?"

"What is that, aru?"

"I ask you a question and you answer. Honestly. Then you can ask anything and I will answer. It's simple. Okay, let me start. What is your favourite food?"

Yao looked confused for sometime before answering. "I… I like rice, aru."

Arthur laughed. "Now I know why your teeth are so white. Now you ask."

Yao smiled. "What is your favourite food, Arthur?"

"Let see.." Arthur snuggled deeper onto Yao's body, his nose enjoying the scent from Yao's neck. "I want to always eat you."

"Silly. I am not food." Yao smiled slyly and rubbed Arthur's rough hair. It smelled heavenly.

"So it's my turn now. Why you are named Yao? What does 'Yao' means?"

"Yao means to shine brilliantly. My parent wished I will be a scholar or something. But I ended up being a Guide and can do nothing, aru…anyway, what is yours, Arthur? Why are you named Arthur?"

"…I don't know. Maybe they just named it from the story book. I was taken in by the Tower when I was small. Before that, I don't have family."

Yao sensed a string of pain and darkness from their bond. Unconsciously, he tried to push the darkness away, yet it was there, hard and unmoveable. It showed how strong the feeling was. Yao hugged Arthur tighter.

"You have me, now, aru."

"…You were the one who tried to run from me just weeks ago, Yao." Arthur chuckled. "Are you sure?"

"I don't know aru. But you seem like a nice guy."

"I don't like that."

"My turn, aru." Yao smiled. "Why do you never take a bath in the morning, aru?"

"I don't want to clean myself for a dirty job. ..Hey! This is supposed to be my turn!"

"No, it was my turn, aru. You asked me 'are you sure' aru, so I answered and then it is my turn."

"Mine!" Arthur shook his head and pouted. "Mine!"

"Fine, aru. This is your turn. What do you want to ask me?"

"…What did Francis wrote in his letters?"

Yao closed his mouth. Francis, yes, his—Yao's—pen pal. They had been writing to each other with Arthur as the post man. the French man has told Yao a lot, about what is the meaning of being a Guide in the West, how to survive and how to use his ability to guide Arthur. Francis mentioned that Arthur was one of the most fucked up Sentinel minds he ever saw in his—Francis'—life, so he encouraged Yao to be super-sensitive towards the green eyed man.

"He told me about you, aru. You like tea better than coffee, aru. I like it too. But Francis mentioned that you always wake up early. Yet now you are not. Why aru?"

"He is just a lying bastard." Arthur pouted. "I don't like to wake up early when I can snuggle with you in bed."

"Arthur…"

"…Alright, I am going to work." Arthur straightened his body. He rise from the bed and moaned loudly. It startled Kiku in his cribs and the baby started to sob.

"Ah, I awaken him." Arthur scratched his hair. He walked towards the crib and peeked inside. The baby was sobbing with his little hands clamping on the sheets. Arthur watched closer, watching how such a small mouth can produce such a big sound.

"He wouldn't stop if you just watch him like that, aru." Yao laughed. "Smile to him Arthur. It will make Kiku feel safer."

"Smile?" Arthur asked. And his lips started to open and formed a half circle. Kiku saw Arthur's changing face and bawled even louder.

Yao laughed. "That's not a smile, aru! Be gentler, sincere."

Arthur chewed his lips before forming another smile. This time he did it right, because Kiku stopped crying and smiled back, giggling with face full of snot.

"He… he is laughing at me." Arthur stumbled, but he maintained his smile to the baby. Yao laughed even louder.

"No, he was laughing with you, aru. He could sense your happiness. Toddlers are sensitive, aru."

* * *

><p>"Finally I got you."<p>

Arthur hissed at the air in front of him. No, it wasn't actually some air. It was another Sentinel with the ability to 'blend in' just like Arthur. Arthur has been trying to spot on the Eastern Sentinel, and finally he succeeded into bringing the man away from the war front line, into the other part of the wood where it wasn't full of blood. And true to it, suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere. Stood in front of Arthur, was an Eastern man of his late twenties.

"You are the one who had been targeting me since two weeks ago." Arthur growled. "What do you want? I know this is war and everything, but I don't kill. I don't want to kill if I can. It's annoying to maintain that will if you keep targeting me."

"I know." The man frowned. "I am here just like you. We are spies. We blend in, we watch the war and reported it back to our superiors. Yes, I know what happened. I am exactly the same as you. But me targeting you is because of private reason."

"I never know you; I never did anything to you, so why? What private reason do you mean?"

"You took my partner away." The man snarled, showing his elongated fangs. "He is mine. He originated in the East, and I met him first in the Eastern village before he ran away. I was supposed to be his partner, not you, a Western fool!"

Arthur finally realized what it was all about. Yao.

"He is mine now, so don't you dare touch him."

The Eastern Sentinels growled darkly. "I will kill you if you don't return my Guide! Flaunting his smell on my nose like this… you are truly a brave man to challenge me."

"He has bonded with me. He is mine."

"I don't care. In the East, we can bond to out Guide as long as the Guide is free. If you are dead, then he will be free to bond with me."

"I won't surrender Yao, you imbecile!"

"You are the one who took it first from me!"

Their eyes told each other that they won't reach a peaceful agreement, and both started to move. In a split of second, they both blended into the air.

The thing with blend-in Sentinels are, they still could feel the other even though they were both blended into the air and cannot see each other. Arthur could feel the aura of the Eastern man came nearer to him, a neck breaking speed. He reacted, and almost a split of second late. His cheek was bleeding, as if the wind has cut him. Arthur knew that if he didn't dodge, his neck would have been slashed clean cut.

He attacked back. Instead of using his hands, he used his feet and aimed at where the aura came from. It made a crack sound, and a bit of pain stung his feet. Arthur knew he aimed well, but how much damage his kick has done was unclear. Suddenly a gush of wind came from beside his left ear, and Arthur dodged it just in time; pain from the impact made his arm throbbed.

"He is mine. Get your own western bitch, Westerners!" The voice roared, and Arthur felt another punch was aimed at his face. As he dodged, Arthur smiled. So the Eastern man aimed more to the face and head, Arthur's most vulnerable points. Meanwhile Arthur attacked back and aimed for the gut, which was the other's vulnerable point. It showed how different Eastern and Western in their defence training.

Interesting.

The battle continued for another half an hour before suddenly Arthur was distracted by the sound of his clock signalling lunch alarm.

His mind was down for a minute, reminded of lunch and Yao, when he got punched right on the nose by unseen hand. It was painful, Arthur felt as if his forehead has been detached from his head. He cursed, and aimed his punch to the aura instead. It nicely landed on some part of the body that induced considerable amount pain, as suddenly his opponent appeared from the thin air, holding his chest in pain.

Both of them stopped for a moment to collect themselves. Arthur could smell blood from his broken nose, while the Eastern man spitted out blood.

"We'll continue this later." The man growled.

"…What a coward. Can't you stand?"

The man growled, but he disappeared into thin air. Arthur readied himself for another attack and blended in himself; but the aura totally disappeared. Arthur readied himself, but after ten minutes of silence, he knew that he had won the first battle.

But then he realized he didn't know the Eastern Sentinel's name. What a waste. If he knew, he could search something about him from the Tower linked database.

He would definitely asked Francis later.

* * *

><p>"What happened? Your nose look like it grows inside your skull, Arthur." Francis sighed. "I thought you were not supposed to fight? Aren't you the spy?"<p>

Arthur refused to answer. He was seated on one of the bed inside the Tower's Hospital wing. Around him were Sentinels and Normals and Guides, all in medical occupation or patients. Arthur's face looked fine, except for the crooked bluish black nose.

"Why are you here?" Arthur hissed in irritation, because he didn't wish to see the Guide. He wanted to go home straight away and made sure Yao was safe inside their apartment.

"I got called. I was supposed to calm you down. But now that you have 'him', you don't need me anymore. Yet just for safety precaution, do you want me to calm you?"

"No. I want to go back."

Francis sighed. "You fool. If you refused my offer, they will get suspicious, you know. You haven't asked for calming for at least two weeks, and you were one of the most 'needy' Sentinels in the past. If I don't calm you here, they will think you have something back in your newly bought home."

"I… I don't want to bond with you. I want … him."

Francis scratched his head. Yes, Sentinels are head headed and needy, yet they are also unbelievably loyal. There are some cases where Sentinels killed themselves when their Guides die, simply because they couldn't receive any other guides anymore. Arthur never received Francis fully as his personal Guide, so he was fine. But now he had Yao, Arthur felt disgusted at the mere thought of thinking and bonding mentally with Francis; let alone physically bonding.

"I want to go back. I want to go to Yao."

Francis sighed. "Fine. I will tell them we had bonded. Now, go."

When he saw Arthur's face light up; Francis felt something stabbed his heart directly.

* * *

><p>Francis sighed. He wanted to cry. The boy he loved dearly has found his own love. And now Arthur refused his help, the only thing Francis could give him.<p>

It used to be different. When Francis was caught and brought into the Tower ten years ago, he was angry and scared and hates the Tower. But then he leaned the truth that his family was killed to prevent him getting out from the Tower. So instead he wanted to get revenge at the Tower using his own skill, from the inside.

He was a Guide, yes. He was physically weak, yet his mental was strong and he was very manipulative. He was assigned into 5 Sentinels in his first month; and although it was painful, he managed to control himself and instead, manipulated the Sentinels in his care to love him more than the Tower. Under his orders, the Sentinels under his guidance brought prosperity to the Tower, and most of them are upranked within a year.

His reputation then boomed; and eventually he was assigned as many Sentinels as he could handle. All those who fell under his guidance became very loyal to him, and Francis slowly took control of the Sentinels inside the Tower. It wasn't that easy as the concept showed, but basically Francis was quite able to manipulate those lower Sentinels. And Arthur was one of the new Sentinels given under his guidance.

The teenaged Arthur was an angry boy. He was the most challenging and also the clingiest. Francis grew a bit a soft side for the boy, especially since he knew Arthur's background, which was quite similar to his current condition as a family-less man.

But now, he reaped what he sowed. Arthur found someone else he loved more than Francis. Francis knew better than to involve his own feeling while manipulating people. And now Arthur's attitude made him sad. And jealous of the new Guide, the Eastern Guide he never seen but knew a lot from the letter.

The new Guide—that Yao—sounded like a sweet weak Eastern man. Yet Francis knew how tightly guarded Yao was. From the letter, he could find no lingering scent/thing that can let Francis tracked back to the Eastern man. The only thing he could make sure that Yao existed was the scent lingering on Arthur's body and Arthur's smug smile. Yao seemed meek, yet he was strong in guarding what was important.

The Sentinel in his arms looked at him.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." Francis smiled and kissed the blond four-eyed boy. "You are adorable with your white teddy bear, Matthew."

* * *

><p>Yao went pale when he saw Arthur's black nose.<p>

"AIYAH! Heavens, what happened, aru? Why your nose turn black? Are you OK? Aiyah! Not good!"

Arthur smiled. Somehow looking at panicking Yao brought him a kind of warmth. "I am fine, Yao. But I need you so much now."

Yao stopped panicking and abruptly opened his clothes. "Come to me, aru!"

Arthur was flabbergasted before he roared in laughter. Yao's act was so manly, and his words 'come to me, aru!' sounded like a Superman call. Yao ignored the laugh, despite blushing a bit, and in no time, they embraced each other's heat.

Yao gently pulled put everything, lowering Arthur's senses and made him felt better. It was one of the rare moments when Yao topped (but Arthur still delivered—as in, penetrated); and Arthur realized that his pain went away as Yao pushed up and down on his hips, riding him.

From his box, little Kiku watched in amusement, while sucking on his pacifier.

* * *

><p>review? Cheer me up after a bad week?<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you for your reviews!

I am sorry for the relaunching of the chapter. I have my reason. I just found out that the published chapter was not complete. something was wrong with the FF submitting process, I guess. SO I add the real version. If you have read this, you can just scroll down to the last few paragraph.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>When he woke up in the morning, Arthur felt like he was completely healed. He felt no pain, no bruises no tender spots. He touched his nose, and somehow it was clearly healed. When he watched himself in the mirror, he saw a perfectly nice face, the normal Arthur.<p>

It was like magic. Arthur is a believer of those magical stuff while he (was forced to) acknowledge that magic is rubbish. His fantasies and imaginary friends are bullshits. He was teased because of that, and he never talked about it afterward, but he knew that magic does exists.

Somehow coupling with Yao felt like warm and magical as magic he used to imagine.

Arthur smiled. Maybe he had reached something different with Yao. He didn't know what, but being with the Eastern Guide made him felt contented. So he returned to the bed, aiming to wake Yao up. Think about it, it was weird that Yao wasn't the one who woke him up like usual.

When he shook the small body to wake him up, he noticed that Yao was curling on the bed, unmoved. His face was buried inside the pillow, so Arthur couldn't see his face, and the hair was flowing around his head.

"Yao?"

The Eastern Guide shook his head.

"Yao, whats wrong?"

When Arthur finally managed to pull Yao's face up, he saw why Yao refused to show him his face.

Huge black mark appears around Yao's nose, and it looked painful. Yao's eyes were watery from holding back the pain. Arthur was shocked, then he forcefully took off Yao's clothing. He found his scars, bruises, and tender spots on the places it was on his body last night, on the exact same place on Yao's body that morning.

It seemed like his scars were transferred to his lovely Guide.

"What…?"

Yao shook his head, gritting his teeth. It was so painful. He didn't know what happened, and it was the first time it happened. Usually although Yao calmed the Sentinel down, the scars and pain never transferred to him. And since he was much more delicate than Arthur, Yao felt the pain three times worse.

"Yao!" Arthur didn't know what to do. He hunched over Yao's body and took the smaller man into his embrace. It was shocking, Arthur's body suddenly felt really cold. Was that the result of their coupling last night? Was it because Yao healed him? Has it been like that all along? All those calm and peace Yao grants him was on expense of Yao's own health and body?

Yao shook his head, trying to smile. But the pain was something he wasn't used to, and it was killing him. Everything felt so bad, heavy, and painful. To make matters worse, suddenly Kiku started to bawl inside his cot.

* * *

><p>He spent the entire day in, looking after Yao. The smaller man caught a bit of fever, but after taking in some medicine and sleep for a few hours, the fever slowly decreased. To his dismay, however, Yao still look like he was in great pain.<p>

The Eastern Guide tried to be strong and offering to do the housework as usual, but even Arthur could see that it was only a bluff; Yao couldn't even move from the bed, let alone stand and take care of Kiku. The baby, meanwhile, cries non-stop when he saw that his father couldn't wake up from bed and tend to him. Arthur tried his best to look after the baby, but Kiku doesn't really favour Arthur as much as he loves his real father.

Arthur tried everything—he even forced kiss Yao, thinking that the scar can be returned back if they bond again. He was disappointed when he found it wasn't the case. Yao shook his head, trying to calm his partner down.

"I don't know what else to do, Yao." Arthur was desperate, in the verge of tears. "Is the painkiller really working?"

Yao nodded, but he still couldn't speak properly.

* * *

><p>Francis was surprised when he found Arthur, the lost child, was the one who knocked on his bedroom door.<p>

"What's up, sweetheart?" He smiled flamboyantly, didn't even care to dress himself up. He was naked from a calming session with Matthew.

"Tell me what to do." Arthur desperately asked, both of his hands were cold on Francis' shoulders. "Yao… Yao he…"

"Calm down." Francis told the man and took him in. To Matthew, Francis smiled apologetically and asked the blond four-eyed Sentinel to go out from his room.

"Tell me."

Arthur told him what happened, and Francis was surprised. Shocked. All his life he had been a Guide, and never once he encountered anything like that. It was something really weird, and the only explanation he could give was because Arthur's bond was too strong.

"..I think it's because of your bond. Maybe the bond between you and him is so strong that he could absorb everything—literally." Francis licked his lips, nervously. He didn't know what advice to give. "Since the one-to-one Sentinel Guide partners are rare nowadays, there is no such case reported, at least not in West. Maybe it depends on the bond. This is very serious. I have read somewhere that if your bonds are really strong, you can even share thoughts; but sharing pain was unheard of. We usually get pleasure from absorbing your pain, not feeling the pain you had."

"What should I do?" Arthur asked weakly.

"…The only sensible thing to do is to submit him to The Tower and let the medics treat Yao." Francis sighed. "But this is not what you want, am I right?"

Arthur nodded.

"Then maybe the only thing you can do now is refraining from getting hurt. Or, even if you get hurt and felt really bad, you cannot mate with him anymore. You can come and I can calm you down instead. Just… Just don't touch him anymore, not for the moment."

* * *

><p>It was like the verdict of death. Arthur couldn't even put his concentration on his job. The war around him surprisingly was calmer today, since everybody has started to get tired and both sides have lost great deal of ammo and people. The Sentinels were called back, leaving the putty human to fight. Yet Arthur was still there, because he needs to compensate the day off he took the day before.<p>

He looked around and became extra careful. He couldn't afford to get hurt and then transferred it back to Yao anymore. That morning Yao assured him that he was better already, and the Eastern man was already standing and everything; but the black bruise on Yao's nose still reminded Arthur so much of how much pain Yao was the day before.

Arthur felt helpless beyond himself. He used to be strong, independent of not a bit of a rascal when he was still alone in the Tower. Now that he got Yao, somehow watching the Eastern man in pain made Arthur wanted to kill himself for causing the pain.

He carefully watched the other side, and noticed the absent of the Eastern sentinel. Through the smell, through the noise, there was nothing to warn Arthur against him. Maybe Arthur's kick the other day was effective, or maybe the Sentinel was having a day off, but Arthur was glad he didn't need to face the bastard that day. He had enough in his mind.

* * *

><p>He bought the best fruits he could find, the prettiest bunch of roses he could afford and another supply of painkillers before he returned home. On the way through the market, he found a pair of little earrings that would look good on Yao. Arthur thought it may be the best thing for Yao since Yao was very self-conscience about the bruise on his face. He refused to let Arthur see his face more than five minutes. Arthur thought maybe Yao felt not pretty enough, so the earrings maybe can help.<p>

It was small and red in colour, consists of beads arranged into the shape of a rose. Arthur bought it and was surprised when he found that the price was quite cheap. Apparently because it was in war, people truly needs to buy stuff they need, so these kinds of luxuries become less sought after.

So he went back home with a bit of happiness and a hope that everything will get better.

Just when he realized that Yao's presence wasn't inside their house.

* * *

><p>I hope this time it's fine.<p>

Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Parte 6

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><p>His face looked way better today, Yao whispered to himself and smiled. Maybe Arthur won't be worried all that much anymore, it was painful, yes, but he was getting better. Arthur should stop worrying too much.<p>

Yao went to the kitchen and checked the fridge. There were not much left, since Arthur cooked and used up all their ingredients and food and waste it on failure dishes. He should ask Arthur to buy some food afterwards. Then he walked back to the bedroom and took Kiku into his arms. The boy squealed and kissed Yao's cheek.

"Fine, aru. I know you are hungry." Yao smiled and kissed his son. "I will get some for you now."

Suddenly Kiku stopped smiling. The baby started to shake, as if he got a fever. Yao become more concerned and put the baby on the bed, but then he realized why. There was a huge wave of Sentinels aura around them, moving towards them. Towards the apartment. And none of them was Arthur.

They were getting closer. Yao realized it too late. He felt the dangerous Sentinels's aura lurking behind the apartment door. Yao tried his best to blend, to make his presence unreadable. He took Kiku from the bed, and hugged the baby tighter to his chest. He prayed a bit, wishing Arthur will come soon.

The door was opened harshly; and Yao slipped into the bathroom and closed the door, locking it from inside. He was panicking and didn't realize that he actually trapped himself inside a small toilet, with no way out. He heard people entering the apartment, and he could feel that all of them, at least seven in numbers, are all Sentinels.

"We know you are inside." Some voices came from the other side of the bathroom door. Yao's body started shaking. He tried his best to camouflage his presence. But before he could, the door was forced open and revealed a group of man—all Sentinels. Yao knew from their smells, just like they knew Yao is a Guide from his smell.

"He is an Eastern!" Somebody shouted in surprise. "What the fuck!"

"But he is still a Guide. And he is now in our territory, so the Eastern Tower cannot claim him. He is ours."

Yao shook his head. He released his power around, trying to lull everybody there into forgetting why they were there. "N..No, aru! I don't know what you are saying about!"

It worked for some; more than half of the Sentinels suddenly dropped their excitement and grunted.

"Hey… maybe we make a mistake?"

"Yeah, maybe he is just a slave. We should surrender them to the Normals."

"Damn, we have trailed this far to fail?"

"Wait." Yet some of the un-fooled Sentinels signed for their comrade to not walk away. He was the Guide-hunter, and he was more experienced than Yao. He could sense Yao's fear beneath all the pheromones and he knew why Yao was afraid. "He is very experienced. He is a Guide, alright."

"No, aru!" Yao tried to release his pheromones even stronger, but he was too late. The Guide-hunter entered the bathroom and grabbed Yao's shoulder. Yao felt like a jolt, as if he was electricified. His body suddenly felt so weak he couldn't move. And he dropped Kiku to the floor.

The baby screamed in pain and started crying. Some of the Sentinels closed their ears, looking uncomfortable with the sudden high decibel of cries from the baby. But the Hunter released Yao, shoved the Eastern beauty into the arms of one of his comrade, and took Kiku from the floor.

"Is this your baby?"

"Kiku!" Yao screamed, horrified that he couldn't do anything because his arms were locked easily by the Sentinels holding him. "Let him go!"

"It's good." The Hunter smirked. "You have a kid. He might be a Guide too, in the future. We should bring him along."

"Are they heritable? Guide, I mean." One of the Sentinels asked.

"There are cases like that, yes." The Hunter smirked even wider. "And they said that heritable ones are the rarest of kind."

Yao screamed his son's name, but the Sentinels holding him lost his patience. He smacked Yao's neck with force enough to kill a Normal. It made Yao lost his consciousness and went limp in the man's arm.

"He smelled like he had bonded." The Sentinel holding Yao grumbled. "This is useless..."

"Hey, he can be yours too." The Hunter smiled to his comrade. "We have to share, remember?"

* * *

><p>Yao opened his eyes just to regret what he saw.<p>

He was underneath a man, a Sentinel, twice, no, three times bigger than him. And he could feel something poking his ass.

"No, aru!" he screamed.

Suddenly the door was opened. Yao jumped, and the Sentinel holding him released his hold on Yao. The Hunter who caught him before he lost consciousness entered the room in a hurry.

"What the fuck have you done!" the Hunter scolded loudly.

"You said we can share." The Sentinel shrugged, but from his smell, Yao knew that the danger has gone. The Sentinel holding him and almost raping him was afraid of the Hunter. The Hunter seemed to have more power over his captive.

The Hunter growled. "But not like that, you fool! You think everything can be done by force? He could have killed himself and we will have nothing!"

Yao swallowed hard. Killed himself was a nice idea, but then he wasn't really sure how to do it. He looked around while thinking and realized that he was in a room with no window. There was a central airing, and the room was quite cold, from the blazing air conditioner. Furthermore, he was in a white room. He was on the bed, a very soft king size bed. He only has a shirt on, and the shirt wasn't even buttoned. He was naked, almost. There was nothing much around him, only a dressing table with a chair and a mirror stuck to the wall. There were the Sentinel and the Hunter, with some other male Sentinels behind the Hunter. Yao felt like he was trapped inside a tiger's den. _Tigers_ den.

"Where am I, aru?" He asked to nobody in particular, while his hands tried its best to button up the only shirt he had on. He was doing a bad job because ehis hands were shaky and uncontrollable.

"You are inside the Western Tower, beauty." The Hunter smiled, gently, as if he wanted to make Yao felt less afraid of him. It was futile, of course. Yao knew the man was the one who caught him and got his baby…

"Where is KIKU, aru?" he screamed, and almost thrown himself from the bed. The Sentinel who almost raped him brought him back onto the bed, trying to be gentle, but with his strength, Yao's skin turned red and soon bluish.

"Kiku? Is he your baby?" The Hunter asked.

"Yes, aru! Give him back!"

"No, I can't promise that." The Hunter smiled gently. "But I can make a deal with you."

"Wha…What do you mean, aru?"

"Your son is under strict supervision. Do you know that he might be a Guide too, in the future? We don't know yet, but he is still potentially valuable. So we need to keep him here. However, if he is just a Normal, we will discard him to the Normal orphanage. But you can get him back if you agreed to this deal. We need you here. I see that you have bonded, so practically we cannot ask you to be the Tower's Guide without your consent. So I need to know who you are bonded with."

"…I won't tell you, aru!"

"You need to comply with us, honey." The Hunter sighed. "Otherwise I cannot let you meet your baby."

"But!" Yao felt helpless and in the end nodded. "…Arthur Kirkland, aru. I am his."

"Interesting." The Hunter smirked. "Him, of all people? Francis will be very sad."

"Let me see my baby!"

"Ah, that reminds me of our deal. Ok, listen. Since you are bonded already, we need your consent to be our Tower's Guide. Basically you need to stay here and help us provide service to some Sentinels. I would say, no more than five, initially, but if you are good, then we may add your work."

"I don't like it, aru, let me and Kiku go!"

"If you want to meet your baby again, you need to agree to this deal. You will open up to our Sentinels in heat and be a good Guide. Then we'll let you be back with your baby and Arthur, for about twice a month."

Yao looked lost and his face paled. The Hunter nodded. "If you are good and able to receive more Sentinels, we will be kind to you and give you more time to meet them in a month. Heck, I will even let you have the baby back, and let you take care of him. But you cannot move out from this place, even if the war ends. You are already our property, this Tower's property. So please think about it. We'll give you some time till tomorrow. Please agree. Or not, you won't be able to meet your baby again."

The Hunter then signed for all the men to left Yao alone in the room.

* * *

><p>"Why do we even give him a choice? Can't we just force him or something?" one of the lower Sentinels asked. They were walking inside the corridor after leaving Yao on one of the Guide's room. It was on the different side of the Tower. Unlike the Sentinels who needs Tower, Guides hate the Tower. And once they were caught, they need to spend their entire life in the Tower. So, in order to compensate their awful fate, The Tower provides better living quarter for the Guides. Actually, they were placed in better living quarter because many of the Guides in the past committed suicides right after being caught. And thus, the Guide's wing is designed to have less harm as possible.<p>

"He is bonded, that's why." The Hunter growled. "You cannot simply force a bonded Guide to be the Tower's Guide. They have the will to not receive anyone, and provide no calming charm that you need. If that's the case then even though you try to mate with him, it will have no effect and you'll feel just like mating with normal human. You don't want that, do you? And most of them usually try to kill themselves if you force just like that. So shut up and let me talk to him."

The whole group shut their mouth and followed the Hunter. They were all harsh and masculine, incapable of being gentle. Without being told, they knew that without bonding first, they couldn't make Yao succumb to them on his own will. And that's why the Hunter gave Yao the deal. Meanwhile, the Hunter was relieved that Yao didn't know anything about his own free will. Like he suspected, Yao was newly bonded and never caught before by any Towers, so he didn't know that he can make any choice he wanted. They walked briskly to the Sentinel's wing. The nearer they got to the Sentinel's living quarter, the more excited they were. They could feel some kind of force and anger radiating from the quarter.

One of the Sentinels asked. "Arthur Kirkland is there. What should we do?"

"We need to convince him to share his bitch." The Hunter answered. "With or without force."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the baby room, the Normals and Sentinels were at lost on how to calm the new baby. Kiku was crying loudly, refusing to calm down, and his shouts and screams brought the other babies into crying along.<p>

* * *

><p>To be continued.<p>

Review?


	7. Chapter 7

Parte 7

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><p>Crying was futile, that's why Yao just sat on the bed and tried to <em>think<em>. The perimeter of the room wasn't that wide, but somehow he couldn't sense anything—nothing, outside the room. maybe the wall was thick and isolated with some kind of special materials that blocked his senses. He couldn't even sense Arthur anymore. Yao knew he needed to call, or at least signed to Arthur that he is fine and alive. But with the barrier enclosed around him, Yao could only wretch and try.

He wished Arthur got the last signal he sent before he was forced into unconsciousness. It wasn't intentional, but Yao remembered when he dropped Kiku onto the floor, his mind was in mess and he started shouting in his head—and he wished Arthur herd it.

And Kiku-his baby son was somewhere in the place. They said Kiku was a potential Guide—who is Yao kidding with. He didn't want to subject his son into this fate, being locked down and forced to receive many men as if they were whores. Even worse, Guides were not paid, since Guides weren't even allowed to get anything for themselves. They were literally, the mouse in the cage. The problem with Sentinels is that majority of them are males and they are really possessive. Guide like Yao would never even see the daylight anymore, except he landed a high-ranking Sentinel who is powerful enough to get one Guide for them. And unfortunately, Yao has bonded with Arthur. So the option is out.

While Yao was busy contemplating his fate and how to survive the Tower and find Kiku, the door suddenly opened. Yao jumped from his bed and immediately run to the other side of it, hiding from the door. He knew it was pathetic and useless, but somehow he just felt like it is better than facing the danger head on. He wasn't ready to even bond with Arthur, but the bond turned out to be one of the best decision he ever made. Yao wanted to preserve himself for the particular bond, and he would definitely not surrender his body for others as long as Arthur still alive.

"Don't be afraid, mon ami. It's me, Francis."

Before Yao could see the man, he could feel the calming and friendship radiating from the door. The man was a Guide alright, Yao nodded to himself. He was at least safe, and won't be raped by this man. So Yao came out from where he was hiding and saw the French man he had been sending mails to. Francis looked like what Yao thought: flamboyantly beautiful. Golden wavy locks around a very attractive Western face. Francis looked good and confident on himself, and his aura was amazingly calm and elegant. Meanwhile, Francis was doing the same thing to Yao, measuring the Eastern's aura. Maybe Yao was scared, but his aura radiates something Francis could never have: calmness, dignity and kindness. Soft features and petite body made Yao looked like a small, young nymph. Interestingly, Yao's Eastern features just added to the loveliness of the Guide. Francis might be the more masculine type of Guide, but Yao is the ultimate submissive Guide. It is quite an advantage and disadvantage. Yao is too weak to reject any Sentinels, but he is also the ultimate Guide all Sentinels wanted to have. So while Francis is able to control the Sentinels under him with manipulation, Yao can influence every Sentinel around him without even consciously trying.

A small part of Yao's mind retreated back. Francis looked _perfect_. Why Arthur even chose him over such Western perfection?

"Finally we meet." Francis smile, and he was offering his hand. Not only the hand, he also releasing his pheromones, the cooling and calming pheromones. Francis did his best, revealing his best aura, offering peace. But he knew that no matter what he did, Yao's normal aura would be even more calming than his. "I am Francis Bonnefoy. Arthur is a really possessive boy, is he not?"

Yao smiled back, and taking the hand on offer. They hand shake, and without realizing it, Yao measured Francis's Guide ability. Yao felt comfortable straight away because he knew he was on the same level with Francis, so no matter what Francis did, he wouldn't be able to hypnotize Yao. And immediately, Yao released his aura too, forming the friendship bond between them.

Francis was taken aback. Such power. Now he had a perfectly good idea why Arthur's scars and injuries transferred to Yao last time. Yes, Yao is one, or maybe even the last, legendary Guide from the past. The one called the Omega Guide, a race has terminated many centuries back in the Western society due to the view of Guides as weak and must-be-killed for their own safety. There are still some families producing Omega Guide in the Eastern societies; and Francis has a suspicion that those families were in hiding too. The uniqueness about this branch of Guide is they are inherited. They are very fertile, and no matter what gender they are, they could give birth to a new Guide. Just one per person.

"I am Yao, Yao Wang, aru." The Eastern man smiled. Francis couldn't help but smiled back.

"I would love to chat more with you, lovely." Francis smiled sadly. "But I am here in limited time." And then he bent down to whisper on Yao's ears.

"_They __are __listening __to __us __through __the __camera. __Pretend __you __are __fine __while __listening __to __me.__" _

Yao nodded. Francis continued.

"…_Arthur __is __captured __by __the __Tower.__"_

* * *

><p>Belarus was impatient. She was never a woman with patience, and she was never good with children. And yet, she stuck there, inside the children, infants and baby room. She wanted to git her head off. It's all because of her young-pregnancy last time when she was still in medical school. She got pregnant while doing internship, forcing her to enter the paediatrics and ob-gyn section. And then the irony was she had miscarriage and her wombs were taken away. And now she stuck inside a room full of babies.<p>

Oh how she hates her job. But the war forced her to do what she was doing right now. She was bond with the scholarship-bond with the Tower. She might be a Normal, but her intelligence and strength mirrored the Sentinels. People always thought she was a Sentinel if they don't know better.

The loudest source of noise was the boy who was taken in that day. The boy has two great lungs for a size that small. And thanks for that huge lung capacity; the whole roo seemed like exploding everytime he cried. And then the other babies started crying to, and welcome to Belarus' worst nightmare.

"I think… we need to return him to his mother." Belarus' sister, Ukraine, who was working as a nurse, suggested. "I couldn't even give him milk. He refused to have anything."

"Sister, be quiet." Belarus wasn't in the mood to listen to her softie of a sister.

"But Bella-chan…"

"Stop calling me that ridiculous name." Belarus cut harshly. "I can handle this. Brother is coming soon and he will know what to do."

"…Fine." Ukraine didn't pursue the matter further, but she tried again to calm down the crying babies.

* * *

><p>"Let him go." Arthur hissed. He was begging. It hurts his pride, but he knew he can do nothing. At the moment, he was on his knees, hands spread wide beside his body, and both his wrists were held by two very heavy locks and chains.<p>

"We can't and you know why." Ivan smiled sadly. "I wish you cooperate with me, Arthur."

"Give me my wife back."

"It's not your right to monopolize."

"You cunningly kidnapped him when I wasn't aware. Knowing you, his son should be here too. Where is Kiku?"

"… He is safe with my sister."

"Your deranged sister?" Arthur hissed. "I wouldn't think otherwise."

"My sister is not deranged." Ivan smiled, but coldness radiating from his face. "Please don't insult other if you don't want to be insulted too."

"Give me Yao back, damn it!"

"You need to learn how to share."

"I will share after I kill all of you."

Ivan stared sadly at the captured figure. Arthur really didn't know the state he was in. Ivan needed to admit that Arthur was quite strong for his size, and it took 10 of his men to actually captured the enrage Sentinel. But it wasn't the right way. Yao was too valuable for the Tower to be given to a mere lowly Sentinel like Arthur. The faster Arthur realized that and learns to share, the more likely Arthur could pass and stayed alive. If not from the Tower letting him alive, or the possibility fo Arthur killing himself by trying to get Yao back.

The room was the hidden punishment room under the basement of the Tower. It was dark and cold, mouldy and disgusting. Stench of dirt, faces and blood filled the room, heightened by their special ability of smelling what used to be there. Ivan didn't like the room, nor does he like what he was doing. He always wanted everyone to be one—maybe under him, the better—but he never wanted to see other gets hurt. Yet, nobody understands his intention. He was always been called the devil with childish smile.

"I can only hold you here until you agree to share." Ivan asked sadly. "Boys, let's move on."

Ivan walked towards the door, and his men followed behind him. Some of them smirked while the other ignored Arthur altogether. Arthur felt like his head was exploding. With anger, frustration, and fear. His senses told him how the room was dirty as heck and cold as ice. His wrists were hurting but his strength were not enough to break the heavy chain designed to capture a Sentinel. And his wounds were open for infection. He could only grit his teeth in pain, but afraid that he might also grinded his teeth until it all broke. He was in pain and denial. All he wished for is Yao beside him and smile to calm him down.

Damn it, Arthur hissed to himself. After promising himself that he would never hurt Yao again, he got Yao into this kind of situation. Damn it.

"Sssh!"

Arthur looked up to see a blonde man he never knew.

* * *

><p>Review?<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Parte 9.

I am sorry for the late update. I start to work in hospital and it drains me away, emotional as well as physically. Thank you for reviewing. This is not done yet, I think this will be a bit longer.

Enjoy!

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><p>He could feel his heart beating fast.<p>

_Once his senses were opened, Arthur felt everything was overwhelming. The stench of trash around him; which used to be somewhat bearable and almost normal, became so disgusting till the point he vomited whatever little he had left inside his stomach from a meal yesterday. _

He listened to his own soft yet swift steps, following behind the blonde sentinels through the secret tunnel.

_The sound of civilization around him made him dizzy. The lady who tried to buy the apples was shouting, asking for the price. The man who tried to sell the turtles was shouting loudly advertising his little pathetic baby turtles. The children were playing and even the sound of their giggles sounded very annoyingly loud. The sound of market around him, whish used to be just normal and bearable, became something that hurts his brain. _

The blond hasn't talked anything, but Arthur realized that he has the special gift of looking in the dark. The tunnel was pitch black, even Arthur could barely see his hand. And Sentinels supposed to have better human senses. The blond man in front of him was moving swiftly and confidently. All Arthur could do to not be left behind was to follow the heat and smell of the blond Sentinel.

_All he wanted was everybody to stop making noise. Everybody should drop dead. Everybody should stop breathing and living. Even their breath stinks and loud. _

They were already running inside the tunnel for hours now. Arthur knew that it might be a trap. It wasn't like him to just blindly follow a stranger. He used to be very careful and suspicious of everyone.

_Yao was smiling beside him, patting his hair gently. Soft hand movements across his hair made Arthur wants to purr. Yao knew how to handle him. Yao knew how to calm him down. Yao was always there, calming him. and it was just like magic. Just with Yao beside him, the whole heightened senses dropped down, to the normal level he used to enjoy when he was small and he wasn't Sentinel as yet. _

But he changed. Arthur has changed. He was not alone anymore. He has something to protect. And now the thing he hold dear the most is kept somewhere above his head. He needs to hang on to any slightest chance that can freeYao.

_Yao__ moaned softly underneath him. Arthur wanted more and more. He wasn't satisfied enough. It was only their first round. Yao is so addictive. It seemed that filling Yao with his seed has become Arthur's greatest reason to live. _

"We are almost there." The blond suddenly whispered, and Arthur felt him slowing down. "This is directly under the baby room, so please be careful. There is a ventilation hole above you, you can jump and get into it. There should be iron plank around the end, you can destroy it. Be careful about the babies; don't hurt them with your acts. … I can only help you till here. I have done my part of the bargain."

Arthur nodded, knowing that the blond could hear he nods.

"I wish you all the best, and please do your part of this bargain too."

"Yes. I promise I'll take my family away and you can have Francis to yourself."

"…Goodbye, Arthur Kirkland."

"Wait, can I know your name? I promise I won't tell on you, I only want to know the name of my helper."

After a long pause, the man answered. "…It's Matthew."

* * *

><p>"So, I am here to negotiate with you." Francis suddenly rose up and talked quite still shocked from the news, but Francis' hand on his shoulder gripped him quite hard, as if offering subtle support.<p>

"I heard that you never been caught by the Tower before. I am here as the Tower's representative Guide. I have been living here for… let say, longer than you can think of, and I can assure you, this Tower has proven to me to be the greatest place to life!"

_Not that I know any other places to live_, was inaudibly added behind the sentence.

Francis smiled and winked at the camera, trying to diverge the watchers' attention from Yao's pale and shaking hard. Francis felt really bad that he has told the news toYao. He should have waited before he said that. But he could cover Yao's reaction to the Arthur being caught news by trying to make it look like Yao was in fear of his future inside the Tower instead.

"I know you are scared, my little nightingale…" Francis cooed. Yao was still still shaking, but he looked like he has regained a bit of composure. Francis smiled, trying to offer subtle support. He released his calming pheromones to Yao.

Yao felt the gesture, and looked up. A small smile was there, but it was clear thatYaowas forcing himself to smile.

"…But I can show you everything nice about this place!"

He gently took the smaller Guide onto the bed, so both of them could sit on the followed, and quite thankful for the gesture because he knew he might collapse soon. Suddenly Francis's aura released a great amount of 'friendship' and Francis looked very serious. Yao took the gist and listened closely.

"You know, committing suicide is not the best decision…" Francis started. He was trying to make Yao realized that he has the power to chose. But Francis needs to do it subtlety; otherwise the watchers wouldn't believe him anymore in the future and instead forcing Yao to do whatever he doesn't want to do. "…since you can chose whomever you want to calm, you see. You have the power to choose to _relieve_ them or_ not_…"

"I… I can do that, aru?" Yao perked up, looking towards Francis as if he gained some of very precious information.

Francis, on his part, pretended to be surprised and guilty. "Oh! I shouldn't have said that! But… fine, since you already know, so yes, you can chose whomever you want to help. It's in your power as bonded guide to choose your partner—or partners. If you don't want to grant your calming power to them, the Sentinels will feel nothing and it will be as pointless to them as mating with Normals. You have the power, Yao. But please don't tell it to my boss, otherwise I get sacked." Francis added the last bit jokingly, hoping that the watchers from the cameras in that room believe that he was just the flamboyant and easy going man he always pretends to be.

"…O…Oh." Yao realized that Francis just gave him the leeway. Now, using the information,Yao should make a smart bargain. He has the choice and the power to choose. They couldn't force him to do anything without his the highest power and he knew Francis will agree to his bidding, as long as the friendship aura around them still intact and they were still left alone. Maybe Francis will reject a bit, but Yao believe that Francis will try to be as lenient as possible.

"I.. I agreed to stay, then, aru." Yao spoke up. "But I have some requirements."

"Uh… and what are those?" Francis pretended to look annoyed.

"First… bring me to see my baby, aru."

* * *

><p>Ukraine cradled the new infant in her arms. She was enjoying the baby. Kiku, his name, is so cute, on par on how the infant looked. Black hair as black as Kiku's is quite rare in the western's world. Most of the babies are blond. Not to mention how Kiku is very cute.<p>

Kiku looked at him while sucking at the milk bottle. He looked very . Of course, Kiku has been screaming and crying for the last two hours, so hunger and tiredness was nothing strange. And weirdly, Kiku looked like he could sense who are good and who are don't, because Kiku simply screamed whenever Belarus was nearby him.

Ukraine sighed. She knew Belarus' job was hurting her, but Belarus' personality is quite problematic too. And it was her fault. She was the oldest of the three siblings; and yet she was silent and powerless when the tragic night happened. She was there when their parents were killed by the Tower's Sentinels on that particular night because they refused to surrender Ivan. In the end Ivan was taken away and she was left with her littlest sister, Belarus.

She tried her best to keep them safe; but what could a twelve years old do? They were passed along relatives to relatives, till the end they couldn't stand it and asked for emancipation. She succeeds into becoming a full pledge nurse, and she worked hard to pay Belarus' medical school fee. Yet another tragedy came and Belarus lost her womb. Also, because of that super expensive operation, she and Belarus are now tied up with the Tower. The only good thing was they could meet Ivan again, but still it was a bit awkward for the sisters to meet their long lost Sentinel brother.

The Tower has taken so much from her and her like she was the epitome of irony, working under Tower's protection. She doesn't hate her job, though, because she loves children; but watching her sister and brother struggled in a job that they don't like made her feels like a failure eldest sister.

If she could, she wanted to give Kiku back to his parents. She knew how hard it was for children to be separated from their parents. Not only Kiku, but his parents must be very depressed right now.

"I want to get something, I'll be back soon." Belarus informed her crudely, and went out from the as the dor slammed behind her.

The sudden silence made her shuddered.

She knew she didn't deserve any respect from her siblings because she is a failure eldest sister, but sometime a bit of respect feels nice.

She could only wish.

* * *

><p>Yao opened the door to find a blond lady with huge breasts cradling his son.<p>

"Kiku!"

Upon hearing his name being called by his father's familiar voice, the infant perked up and started shouting.

"A…A! AAAAA!"

The blond lady looked at Yao, surprised as she didn't realize that Yao was inside. Behind Yao; Francis followed, trying to prevent one Sentinel behind them who acted as the guard to come nearer to Yao and Kiku.

"Kiku!"

"Is he your son?" the lady asked.

Yao nodded frantically, opening his arms. The lady looked over his shoulder towards Francis, asking for permission. The French man nodded. The lady then gently put Kiku on Yao's arms; and the baby wailed his baby boy close; feeling ease over his desperation. It seemed like they have been separated for months; while in reality it was only a few hours or a day at most.

His baby is saved now and he would never let Kiku go. No. Never. Ever. He only needed to find Arthur now.

"I am glad." The lady a sincere smile. Yao caught a sincere smile and wet eyes from the lady.

Before he could say anything, suddenly the ventilation iron tile fell down from the ceilings above their head, making a loud CLANK! sound.

* * *

><p>Review? They really help.<p>

I realize some of annoying problems when I upload:

1. some of the words get cut down-literally; so if you see a sentence tat is not quite right, I assure you that's FF's fault, and not my grammar sucks. I have enough complain as it is.

2. Yao's name get stuck to every words around it. seriously. it looked like this: 'Yaonodded gently'. I need to manually separate them again. and since I am not known for my patience, I am really sorry.

AUGH! I hate these little problems!


	9. Chapter 9

Parte 9. SOrry, the previous chapter have wrong numbering.

Enjoy.

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><p>Yao shrieked when some dust and loud bang! Descend beside him. He shielded his child from the impact, fearing for the worst. A loud Thump! Was heard the next second, and he felt another human being inside the room. Strangely, a familiar presence. When he saw who just jumped beside him,Yao's fear turned to relief.<p>

"A..Arthur?"

There was no his body being hugged tightly the moment after. Kiku was squashed between them; but Yao was too happy to think about anything else. His mate was alright! Arthur looked bad, but he wasn't hurt that much! Arthur's face was unreadable, Yao could feel Arthur's hot and rapid breath on his ear. Kiku squirmed between them, trying to get some space.

"Arthur!"

"Yao." The Sentinel sniffed his Guide's hair. Oh, the scent he missed so much. the body shape he worshipped so much. The man he loved; his beloved and most precious Guide. And his baby. His family. They are safe. At least at the moment.

"Arthur!" Another voice came from their back. Arthur snapped back into reality, and saw Francis standing with a Sentinel Arthur didn't recognise. Arthur was ready to scowl and he grabbed Yao's shoulder tight, snarling at Francis.

"Don't you dare separate me again! I don't care if you are Francis, I will kill you!" Arthur shouted, hiding Yao and Kiku behind him.

"Arthur!" Yao shouted to calm his mate down. He released his calming pheromones to Arthur. "Arthur, calm down! Francis is not …!"

As if on cue, suddenly the guard Sentinel collapsed to the floor. Arthur looked up and strangely, Francis looked very fatique.

"It took everything I have to faint him." Francis tried to smile, but he was very tired. "I make him faint. Now, you need to get out of here, quick!"

Arthur was speechless and didn't know what to say. Fortunately, Yao was not frozen and more agile. He took Arthur's hand and Kiku safely in his arms, and dragged his mate out of the room. as he passed Francis, Yao nodded in silent thanks.

Francis nodded back, watching as the family went away through the only door. Then he turned back to Ukraine.

Francis didn't know what to do with Ukraine, since he has a policy of never use violence against woman. But as if on cue, Ukraine nodded solemnly.

"I won't tell anyone. But you need to make us faint, or else they will suspect both of us."

Francis nodded and for the first time in his life, he made a woman faint with his power. He tried to be as gentle as possible, and he closed his eyes the next. His fatigue was draining him. He really needs to rest.

In that state, it was easy for him to fake fainting.

* * *

><p>"We need to run faster!" Yao said, telling no one but himself. He was still slower than Arthur, even though Kiku was carried by the Sentinel.<p>

"I can carry you both." Arthur offered.

"No, aru! You are hurt! You won't be able to carry us both!"

"I can try. I can."

"No! Arthur, where should we go now?"

Arthur was silenced. He thought he could take Yao back to the dark corridor, but when he thought about it, he didn't know the way and Matthew wasn't there to show them the way. Chances are they would be lost and died inside that scary place. So he opted for the normal corridor, wishing that they could reach the main lobby without getting caught. Very naïve thought; but it was all he has at the moment. And moreover, the nursery is the least guarded place in the Tower. So maybe they could find a way out. "Honestly, I have no idea. But we can go through this corridor and…"

Fate hates them so much. Arthur stopped in the middle his track when he saw who was coming from the other end.

Ivan was almost as surprised as Arthur was. Meanwhile, Belarus was standing beside Ivan with her hands hung on Ivan's elbow. She stared at the two people with a baby in front of them and realized that the baby was the troublesome brat who kept crying all night.

"brother! It's the baby…!"

"I know, Natalya." Ivan answered softly. But his eyes were dead locked on Arthur. "How did you manage to run from the dungeon?"

"It's none of your damn business!" Arthur spat, but he moved back, ready to return to the other end of the corridor. He positioned himself in front of Yao, to protect his petite mate.

"I smell a rat here." Ivan sighed. "And why do you make it so complicated?"

"Move, or I'll kill you." Arthur sense the animalistic fear and adrenaline rush over Arthur. He realized that even though Arthur was in his top form; he wouldn't be able to defeat the Sentinel who captured him.

"See if you can." Ivan was no longer smiling, and he letBelarusaway from his arms. "I don't guarantee your mate's life if you try. I'll count till three and you will surrender and listen to me."

The threat hung over the air. It became very tense. Arthur and Ivan were comparing their deathly pheromones against each quite scared, but she couldn't pintpoint why. Meanwhile, Yao felt his body shaking hard. It was not in his gentle nature to stay in the middle of a battle between Sentinels. Not only the tense aura making him very, very scared and make his natural instinct to run spiked up; his other natural tendency to calm everything down bizarrely making him wanting to become a cushion between the two sentinels. Not the wisest choice, considering he was holding Kiku in his arms.

"One." Ivan counted. Nobody moved. Even Kiku was silent.

"Two."

"Three."

The moment it ended, both Sentinels sprung onto the air. They collided with arms stretched to hurt the other. Yao and Belarus were too shocked to see anything; it was very fast. Arthur might be very fast, but Ivan was a bit faster. And stronger. More experienced.

It ended the next second. Arthur was hung on the air with Ivan's strong hand clenched over his neck. Ivan was strong enough to hold Arthur by neck alone. Kiku started to cry and sob her hands on her ears to stop the irritating sound.

"I said listen and surrender, didn't I?"

"Wait!" Yao screamed. "Let him go! You will kill him like this, aru!"

"Ah, mister Eastern Guide." Ivan smiled gently, contrast of what he was doing. "Nice to see you here, but I wish you to return to your room."

"I know I have a choice, aru and I will make my bargain now! Will you listen, aru?"

"Oh?" Ivan tilted his head. "You made your choice?"

"Yes, aru! Let him go now, and I'll make the choice to suit everyone, aru."

The Eastern Guide looked very determined, and Ivan needs to admit that Yao indeed looked very beautiful. Arthur tried to stop Yao, but he was quite deprived from oxygen. He fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>"Arthur?"<p>

The voice woke him up. Arthur sprung up, but the sudden movement cut off the immediate supply of blood to his brain and made him dizzy.

"Don't force yourself, aru." Yao's voice soothed him. "You are still hurt."

"Where am I? Where are we? Where is Kiku?"

"Kiku is fine. he is sleeping inside his crib."Yaoanswered.

"Ah." Arthur closed his eyes. "Are we back in the apartment? Maybe I was creaming. Ah, what a nightmare…"

"What dream, aru?"

"You got caught by the Tower and I wasn't able to safe you…"

"It is not a dream, aru." Yao answered apologetically. "We are now inside the room the Tower gave me."

Arthur opened his eyes. "Yao…"

"I made a bargain with them, aru." Yao looked serene as he dabbed cold linen over Arthur's face. Arthur realized that he was sweating and flushing. "I accept the job to become the Tower's Guide."

"What!" Arthur smacked the linen away and sat down, forcing his grip on Yao's shoulders. "Are you crazy?"

"But they accept my requirements too, aru."

"…What do you asked them, Yao?"

"I asked them for you and Kiku to always be with me."

Arthur stopped breathing. He knew the Tower was not generous enough to give such a compensation without enough profit.

"What's the catch?" he found himself dreading of the pale and bit his lips before continuing.

"That's…. That's why… you need to accept this. You need to agree… that when you go for work in the battle field, I will serve as many Sentinels as the Tower wants."

In other word, Yao becoming the ultimate slut of the Tower.

* * *

><p>Review?<p>

I feel bad letting you guys stop in the cliffy. Now please dont expect next update this soon, though. Thank you for reviewing and faving and alerting and reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Parte 10.

Merry Xmast and Happy new year! Enjoy! This is my christmas gift for you! (a bit depressing, sorry)

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><p>"Arthur…" Yao spoke out, yet his voice came out as pitiful whimper. He was afraid, yes, he was. He wasn't sure how to act. In front of him, Arthur sat. His eyes were closed a moment before, but when he heard Yao calling him, his eyes snapped open.<p>

"…It's morning, aru."

Arthur pretended he didn't hear Yao—which is quite impossible because Arthur is a Sentinel with all the heightened senses—and raised from the floor. He has taken the choice to sleep on the floor, just with a thin blanket, just beside the door. The only exit from the pretty jail he, Yao and Kiku were forced to stay.

"Arthur… I have your breakfast ready, aru. Please…"

Yao found himself choked by his own tears. Arthur ignored him, his existence, altogether after he told him the conditions Yao was forced to agree to save everyone. Despair filled Yao's chest. He tried to explain, as best as he could, but Arthur refused to reply—or acknowledge anything he said. Arthur didn't return any sign that he was listening at all, or if worse, care. He tried to touch Arthur, to hug, or to kiss, or anything, just to have any contact, and Arthur swatted his hand as if Yao was a disease to avoid from. He had tried to get Arthur to talk back to him, offering everything he could—food, dinner, and even sex—but the Sentinel refused everything outright and stayed beside the door, as if guarding the room from any intruder; maintaining a huge physical distance between them to match their psychological one.

If it was just Arthur's desire to protect Yao and Kiku, Yao would understand and not felt the sadness. However, he could sense that they no longer shared any bond. Arthur seemed to close off his mind and heart, so Yao has no idea how the Sentinel felt. No matter how Ya otried to connect back, to send signals, to get the connection back; the bond was severed. He failed to get Arthur to open up to him. It left him with emptiness. As if he had found his soul was tore apart, becoming incomplete without the other partner who would return his feelings and affection.

He was scared. He didn't like the bed. It was a very good quality bed, definitely better than their bed inside the apartment with the comforter and swan feathers filling, but somehow without Arthur on it, Yao felt like he was being punished for something he needs to do to safe everyone. And it wasn't fair; Yao never wants to choose his choice either. Arthur blamed it on him. Why? Why?

Kiku's sobs filled the room, but the two adults in the room were too occupied to their own thoughts that the baby was ignored. The baby cried louder, filling the already tensed room with uncomfortable screams.

"What do you want me to do, aru?" Yao sobs between Kiku's scream. "I am sorry, but I… I don't know what else to do."

Arthur closed his eyes and stared at the wall, intend on looking through his distressed mate. The only thing he wanted to do at the moment was to kill somebody. His mind was filled with gore, anger and hatred, making him naturally and unconsciously closing off from their bond. He couldn't touch Yao, not now, when his mind was still unstable since he might ended up killing Yao with his harshness—he might ended up raping Yao. And if he opened his mouth, everything he said will hurt Yao, so he definitely won't say anything. His body was numb and sore; being sleeping on the floor for the whole night. It wasn't a good sleep either; his small brain was forced to acknowledge the whole problem and implication of Yao's… rather _devastating_ news.

And frankly, he was angry. To Yao, to the Tower, to Ivan, to Francis… but not himself. He was fed up with it. He tried his best to maintain his newly gotten happiness—and yet, everybody around him always acts to sabotage his small web of happiness. He had tried his best to maintain that fragile 'family'… and all he got now is to be torn away from his 'family' in the worst way possible. Sharing? What a fucking joke.

He could not share. He should not share. He won't share because he never had anything that was truly his in his whole life. If he needs to share now, that's mean Yao wasn't perfectly his. And it defies the purpose of him trying to protect Yao. He wanted a perfect devotion. Something he could say truly his. Something… something he could hold dear to himself without being afraid of it being taken away any moment in the future.

What's wrong with fate? She just _loves_ to fuck his life around. What is it with her, giving him Yao and Kiku as happiness just to take it away a moment afterwards? Arthur felt the urge to kill someone, and he growled dangerously.

On the same moment, the door was opened.

Ivan entered the room with eyes full of curiosity. He was not a sensitive man, but the room was really bad. Really, really heavy atmosphere threatening him; making him aware that at any moment, if he made the wrong move or saying the wrong thing, he would be killed. And he knew he kinds deserved to be killed in Arthur's eyes since he was there to test drive Yao's Guide ability before Yao could be declared as safe and good for the rest of his men. But Ivan was a man on mission, and he knew no matter how he said it, he would still be Yao's first customer for the day, so he swallowed and coughed a bit before delivering the order.

"Kirkland, it's time for you to resume your job."

Arthur growled as if he was a beast and not in possession of human intelligence, standing up from the floor and opted to get out the room as fast as possible.

"Wait…!" Yao called, and Arthur stopped on the door, shoulder to shoulder to Ivan.

Ivan watched the scene unravelled in front of him.

Yao was definitely trying his best—sending his last effort to connect back to Arthur. The bond—invisible but can be perceived by Ivan's Sentinels senses—was fragile, yet beautiful. Suffocating. Breathtaking. Filled with emotions, heavy emotions that he never knew—something intimate between the two people—Arthur and Yao. It made Ivan wondered what kind of relationship they had. It is normal for Sentinel to be very protective of their Guides, but Guides… are not famous for their possessiveness. Guides were more flexible on choosing or changing their partners when complication occurs. They have more choices after all; they don't really need to live with Sentinels, unlike Sentinels who needs Guide to calm them down. And Yao was radiating something like a complete surrender, his aura screaming anything but love; if love does have a form, it was what their bond look like.

"…Have a safe trip aru."

The words did no justice to the bond. But there was some kind of reciprocate from Arthur. Subtle, but there was definitely one. As if the man was saying 'yes' without actually saying it. And just like that, Yao fell to the floor and started sobbing hard, burying himself inside his arms and knees.

Arthur walked away; the bond disappears from the room. After a second of loss; Ivan then realize that the baby was screaming, and wonder how strong the bond was, to make him forgot or unaware about the baby's super loud scream. He walked towards the baby's basket, looking down. The baby was red and looked irritated. Ivan didn't know what to do, so he tried to pat the child's cheek. Slowly, trying to soothe.

But he has no experience with babies. He is a Guide hunter; he is one of the best in his division, that's why he had quite a strong authority inside the Tower. Yet he was so powerless against a crying baby. So instead, he looked up to the mother-slash-father figure who was busy sobbing on the floor. He didn't know how to ask Yao without sounding like a stupid man, and Yao seemed like in another dimension filled with angst, so Ivan could only squatted down to level down his face to Yao's. after a minute of contemplation, he finally called out.

"Wang…" Ivan asked in his childish voice.

The head turned.

Ivan never realised how beautiful the Eastern Guide's face were. Even with the tears and sobs and snots, flushed cheek and wet face. Even with the Eastern features. Even with the clearly desperate eyes.

Yao was mesmerizingly beautiful.

* * *

><p>Arthur walked through the bushes, trying to focus on the war scene in front of him, and predictably, his mind was somewhere else. Look, it wasn't like he intentionally try to sense Yao's aura, but it was automatic. And then he could feel another man touching his Yao—and then he growled hard and started to want to kill anybody around him; enemy and fellow alike. His head was filled with irritating stuff on the line of how they touched Yao, how they pushed deeper into Yao and how... How Yao replace him with them so easily.<p>

On that particular moment, his defence was weakened.

And then he felt the kick to the back of his head.

Growling in pain, he turned back to see the Eastern Sentinel standing with eyes radiating anger and determination.

"I am back, Western, and I am here to retreat my bride."

Arthur suddenly has this huge urge to laugh, and he did so. He laughed till he had tears in his eyes; feeling despair filling his hollow laugh.

"What's so funny?" His enemy asked.

"Oh, it is so funny." Arthur answered, his eyes filled with tears from either laughing to hard or the despair inside his heart. "It's funny how I wish you are my only enemy. How I wish… How foolish I was, thinking that I got Yao in my hand… and now, how foolish of you thinking you can steal him from me."

"What do you mean?"

"We are stupid men, we are." Arthur shrugged. "We no longer have the right on Yao; he is no longer… no longer…"

Mine.

Mine.

_Mine_.

_Mine_ _alone_.

"AAAAARGHHH!" Arthur screamed loud, and jumped on the Eastern Sentinel. His mind was determined to kill—and he doesn't care who as long as he could vent the frustration. He would kill the Eastern man—or the Eastern man could kill him. Either way, he was looking forward to the result.

* * *

><p>Ukraine was surprise when he was called by Ivan to the special Guide side of the Tower. It was not a usual thing, since the Guide areas are guided very closely and she as a Normal has no business to go there.<p>

She knocked, and opened the door. What she saw was a room, barely less than a pretty jail, filled with first class furniture, with Ivan sitting on the edge of the only bed in the room. Ivan was half naked, showing off his abs and muscular upper body. Sweat glistened his barely tanned skin, and the room was filled with some… some specific scent.

She then turned to the bed, finding a bundle of blanket in the other edge of the bed. The bundle was shaking, she realized there should be a human underneath it. When she saw Ivan's ashamed face, she couldn't help but gritted her teeth in disappointment. Her brother has reduced into some kind of heartless Sentinel. She could guess what happened; she knew too clear what happened to Guides once they were captured. They were forced to perform with people they don't love. But it was her first time seeing it firsthand, with her brother doing the raping to boot. And it was all her fault for being too powerless to protect her little brother. But she was his sister, and no matter what… she still has the right to show him his mistakes.

She slapped Ivan's face.

As hard as she wanted, Ivan felt nothing more than a superficial pressure. But he received it with ease, showing that he knew he fully deserved the slap.

"I am sorry."

Ivan was surprised when his sister said that. Shouldn't he be the one saying it? Why did Ukraine…?

The woman went to the other side of the bed and found Kiku has fainted from exhaustion of screaming too long and loud.

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><p>review?<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Another chapter... parte 11? OMG, I never know this story will be this long. By the way, if you still want this story to continue, review. if you dont, then also review, tell me to stop.

I am officially pissed. The ff submission is getting really bad. for one, many of setences with Yao name in it suddenly dissapear upon published. Does FF hate Yao's name? I really hate to redo the whole process of submission again just because a sentence lost its component. Please show me the sentences that look not quite right. Thanks.

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><p>Arthur felt numb. His body stopped moving.<p>

His heart was breaking.

He was fighting, just a minute before. He was on the upper hand, with emotion fuelling his movements; increasing both speeds and force. His kick had sent the Eastern Sentinel away. His punch tore the Eastern sentinel's lips. He looked bloody and torn and twisted in the air before fell hard on the ground. Arthur was on the upper hand, as he stepped and stood beside the body of almost unconscious Eastern Sentinel.

_"Why?" _Arthur find himself asked the man. _"Why are you so persistent? I thought there are more Guides in the East than the West? Why are you so hung up on Yao?" _

Maybe he was trying to ask for a new reason. A reason he could live with, to renew everything with Yao. He was asking for help—albeit so subtle. He wanted to know how much, how much worth Yao could be, is it enough for him to keep fighting the useless battle. The useless battle where he could see that he won't ever win, either already inside the Tower, and Yao wouldn't ever be his, completely his.

The injured man spitted blood on the ground, before grimacing. _"Because I don't want to let him suffer under barbarians like you!" _

_"Barbarians?" _Weird, Arthur thought, because it was exactly what the Tower told him about EasternTowers and their Sentinels.

_"You treated your Guides like slave, even less than animals! I haven't really meet Yao but I won't let him suffer under barbarians like you! He deserves more!" _

The words struck deserve more. What is Arthur to argue? He was nothing but lowly, useless Sentinel orphan. All he brought to Yao was more and more misery. The Eastern Sentinel was right. Arthur didn't deserve Yao. Yao deserves more.

Seeing how his words made Arthur silenced; the Eastern man continued. Maybe he was just emptying his grudge against the Western Sentinel. Maybe he was telling the truth. Or maybe he was bidding his time until help comes. Either way, he continued rambling.

_"Unlike barbarians like you, we Eastern Sentinels treat our Guides as equal. At least, we won't let them suffer inside a cage! I heard that you shared them amongst many of you! How barbaric can you be? Unlike you, we haven't forgotten the underlying fact: they are human too! We won't bind them, we will respect them for what they are—because bonding and mating are a privilege. They come with responsibility! We have our values, and we won't forget it like you barbarians do! We appreciate them better, because we know this bonding come with both privilege _and_ responsibility!" _

Arthur was frozen.

"_Let him go, you barbarian! I'll give you as much money as you want, but give our precious Guide back!" _

From what he heard, then this Eastern Sentinel will treatYaobetter than he could ever be. Arthur never thought half of whatever the man was saying. He had been enjoying the privilege so much—he was never pampered, and being with motherlyYaomakes him so happy he could cry. The small orphan in him yearned for the massive, unselfish love Yao seemed to always offer. In fact, his eyes were a bit wet just from reliving the memory of Yao. Their mornings together. Their time on bed. their time with Yao. The kiss. The calming pat on his hair. The twenty questions…

He forgot that the bonding come with responsibility too—the responsibility to respectYaoas a human he is. He had ignored Yao the whole night, angry because Yao didn't listen to him, or acting the way Yao did… he didn't respect the human right of Yao to make his own was angry because he didn't get everything his way. He was blinded by anger and pretended to not notice of the reason why Yao wants to chose his choice. Yao was only trying to safe everyone—and he achieved that by sacrificing himself. And Arthur hurt Yao further by refusing to acknowledge the fact. He had forgotten the responsibility to give Yao the best of everything, because… because that is what mates do. They love each other and want the best for each other.

And the best thing he could give Yao was to let him go.

* * *

><p>He wanted to knock the door in front of him, but he just can't.<p>

It was only a usual sturdy door, but it felt like a heaven's door. Arthur didn't dare to come in before he was given permission to. He didn't want to see what was behind the door. he didn't want to see how messy Yao was from receiving such numbers of men. He didn't want to see how wrecked Yao was. Judging from Yao's aura, he was a huge massive wreck of emotions. Arthur didn't want to see that. It made him realise what he has forced Yao into—and how it was all his fault for bonding with Yao in the first place. So he can't knock… he is not ready. Not now.

"…Arthur?"

The voice he remembered so well was very weak. The blond man was surprised a bit, didn't realise that Yao was sensing his aura too. Arthur closed his eyes and held his breath before opening the door. Yet the door opened before him. A tall, strong man he associated with evil stood before the door.

"He needs you." Ivan whispered. He was hoarse, and Arthur caught the guilt… and a bit of pain in the tone. It made Arthur wonders a bit.

Guilt? … Why?

"He needs you. He couldn't continue this. If I… If I try to help, he would break. He couldn't let me in. He couldn't handle this." Ivan said bitterly. "Its fortunate that I am the one sent to test drive him. He still can't… please make him calm. You… You are his _mate_."

Arthur nodded and went in. behind him, Ivan stepped away and closed the door.

What he saw was hurting him.

Yao was sobbing, like a huge mess on the bed. he was naked, covered with blanket and shivering like wet kitten. His eyes were wet and red. Yao has been crying for so long, the tear streaks stained his usually lovely flushed cheek. But then he saw Arthur and he looked like forcing himself to smile.

"Wel…Welcome back, aru. I—I will… I will be fine—soon. So-sorry you see-this… mess."

"Yao…"

"I—I can do… do this, aru. Yo—You has been…" Yao sobbed. "working for me and-Ki—Kiku, so I need to… I—can do—do this. I-I can. Just give me-time."

Feeling tears threatening to fall down, Arthur gritted his teeth and went to the bed. he pulled the blanket and covered it overYao's whole body before hugging it tightly.

"I am sorry, Yao. I am so sorry. I am not worthy to touch you now. I am so sorry."

The bundle of blanket inside his arms quivered.

"I am sorry I make you need to go through all these. I promise… you will be out here, soon. With Kiku. Back to where you belong. I am so sorry."

"_Ar…Arthur?" _Mumbling from inside the blanket could be heard, calling his name.

"I will take you out of this place." Arthur tightened his arms. "I swear on my life I will get you out of here."

Then he peeled out the blanket, layer by layer, till Yao was freed. And Arthur was careful to not touch Yao.

"Sleep, Yao. You are tired."

"Arthur?"

"Sleep. I will guard the door. Everything will be alright. I'll protect you."

"Ar…" Yao tried to touch Arthur. Arthur flinched and acted like he was ready to run away, but he changed and returned to Yao's side instead. He took Yao's hand and kissed the inside of Yao's palm.

"My love."

Yao sobbed again, this time not just because of sadness, but also because of happiness. Relief. Nostalgic.

Arthur was smiling at him. His Arthur was back.

Everything will be okay.

With that, Yao fell into deep, deep sleep. He was so tired.

* * *

><p><em>"…Fine. So you are saying… you want my help to get Yao out of the Tower? And what is it for me?" The Eastern sentinel asked sceptically.<em>

_"I'll let Yao go. I'll severe the bond we have. I will make sure he did it too. So he would be as good as unbonded."_

_"Ha!" The eastern man sneered. "Do you think you have such power to severe bonds? It is unheard of, to undo the bond that has been consumed." _

_"I will make sure of it." Arthur grimaced. He actually knows one way… it was what Francis told him last time. "I am sure of it."_

* * *

><p>Francis entered the baby room. Inside he found the big breasted blond woman with Yao's wailing kid inside her arms.<p>

"Is that…?" Francis asked.

"Yes, this is Kiku, Mr. Yao's baby."

"How long has he been crying?"

The woman looked down, looking worried. "Maybe around an hour of so. This is really bad, he could be dehydrated. I tried to give him some milk, but he refused."

"Let me handle him." Francis offered. Sometimes Guide can have calming effect on Normals too, especially on kids and babies. He took Kiku from Ukraine and cradled the child gently.

"Sssh, sssh." Francis whispered, calming the baby. He sent his wave of calmness to the baby, hoping that it works and make Kiku fall asleep. "Sssh, good boy."

Suddenly, his wave of calmness was returned to him. as if the baby refused to receive the wave and swatted it back to him. Francis peered down in suspicion, looking at the baby whose face was red and wet from crying, but has stopped crying for a bit. In fact, the baby was staring hard at him, as if challenging him to send more waves he could reject.

Francis tried again. He sent the waves, slowly, so subtle that even his most sensitive Sentinel wouldn't feel overwhelmed with the sudden calming feeling. What he received was even more shocking.

"Kyaaa! Guuuu!" Kiku screamed, not in mushy-let-me-go-you-are-not-my-mommy-I-don't-like-you-go-away sound, but more to a child who is presented with a new toy. An interesting toy. And his little chubby fingers tried to grab Francis' free-falling blond soft long hair. "Gaaa! Ga!"

So Francis tried again.

Just to feel his calmness was returned in full strength, if not, doubled.

Francis came to realisation. A very dangerous one, depending who knows it.

This child is a Guide. A very, very young Guide. A naturally born Guide whom blessed with the knowledge to control his power. That makes him very special.

Francis groaned. This predicts more trouble.

* * *

><p>Augh, I tell you, this story writes itself. By the way, review! I think I deserve one, think of it like a belated x mast present?<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the wait. Thank you so much for the review for the chapter before, and Iggychushowed me that at least I owed you this to finish. I am really sorry. I have one chapter planned for Faithfully Yours, but so far I am still in my writer's block. By the way, I am changing course, so if some of you are from China, please tell me a good program of living there for a year or so to improve my (already butchered from long time not used) Chinese?

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Ivan closed the door behind him.<p>

His mind was blank-not with confusion but with rage. He hated himself, just this time. Or maybe several times before, but this time, he was really, really angry. Towards the tower, the domination of Tower's leadership, the corruption of the system. How the leaders didn't care for their kinds inside the tower. How for them, every lowly Sentinel was spendable and as long as they can get money or luxuries, then everything is fine. Ivan hated when he saw how the Sentinels Alpha inside the room sat arrogantly on their throne, with one perfect Guide beside each and every one of them while the lower Sentinel ranks like him and Arthur Kirkland shared their Guide amongst 20 other Sentinels.

If only they would share. But Ivan thought about something else. Even though the population of Guide steadily declined, it wasn't very rare until the last decade. It seemed that in the last ten years the number of Guides in the area really decreases. The most curious thing about it is that the Western Guide is declining in number far faster than the Eastern, or any other areas. So something must be wrong.

Anyway, he was there to argue about the freedom of a certain Eastern Guide caught in the golden cage. And he failed to bring the case. Because for the Tower's alpha, an Eastern is even lower than a Normal.

AS he walked down the stairs, suddenly the alarm rung very hard and loud, informing the Tower that they were under attack.

_How was that possible?_ Ivan thought as he paced himself to the main control room where he was required during emergency. The Tower prided itself with un-penetrable wards and security system. Moreover, attacking the Tower is quite similar with attacking a lion's den. With so many Sentinels, trying to barge into the Tower seemed like a useless suicide.

He entered the room to find most of his subordinate and some of his colleagues were watching the monitors closely. Most of the cameras were down, causing no valid information who were attacking them. He could feel the tense in the room, for the whole lot of Sentinels are all high with adrenaline and defensive pheromones.

"The camera system failed. We need to check it ourselves."

Ivan nodded, agreeing with his colleague named Berwald. Together they went out to check out the intruders. They were alert; but they still have the confident that the intruders wouldn't infiltrate too far. They have amazing security system and also strong Guarding Sentinels in the Entry Hall. The Entry Hall is the main (and only visible) entrance into the Tower.

Suddenly a bomb exploded underneath their feet, shaking them and the floor started to collapse. From the harsh training and their heightened senses, the heat from the explosion was bearable and they quickly run to the other end of the corridor. When they finally reached there, suddenly the alarm system was automated, causing the thick metal doors slamming down closing the corridors. Ivan snarled, and was pulled immediately by Berwarld before another door dropped on top of their heads.

"What is happening?" Berwarld asked, voicing Ivan's similar thought.

The answer came in form of the speaker, roaring. "_We are under attack, repeat, we are under attack. This is emergency level 4. The intruders are in the lower level right wing. They are believed to be members of The Eastern Tower._"

Ivan couldn't believe his ears. They are attacked by Eastern Tower! It was unbelievable. The Towers swore to remain neutral, despite 'lending' some hired help for the Normal wars. The relationships between Towers are t3ense, and at best competitive, but attacking another Tower means it is no longer a Normal's war, it would be a full blown Sentinels to Sentinels war. That would cost more lives and destruction.

"Impossible." Berwarld commented the obvious. Ivan growled. He was in no good relationship with the weird Scandinavian man, but he was stressed and tensed enough to feel irritated from Berwald's stupid comments.

Why? Why does the Eastern Tower want to attack them? There was no confrontation ever since the treaty was signed 130 years ago. Except…

_Yao_.

He was the only thing that the Eastern Tower possibly wants. He was the only thing that Ivan could thought as a And he lived on the very wing that is under attack.

_Damn_! They specifically targeted the wing where Yao was, and also, they seemed to know more about the Tower's structure than a foreigner should. So maybe it is safe to assume that there is inside spy in the Tower. Realizing that some colleagues in his Tower giving out such an important information about the Tower and betrayed their home made Ivan's blood boiled. He was a very faithful man. Betrayal was unforgivable.

Feeling enraged, Ivan punched the metal door in front of him. His Sentinel special power was his strength, and his punch made a huge dent on the thick metal door. He punched again relentlessly and within 7 punches, a hole was born.

"Come with me."

"Ivan?"

"I know what they want. Be useful and just follow me, da?"

* * *

><p>Arthur carefully cradled Yao's small body gently in his arms. He noticed that the invasion has started, just on time as the Eastern Sentinel, Yong Soo, promised. Arthur immediately destroyed the camera in the room when the explosions started. Now he only needs to get Yao out of that place.<p>

The door was, fortunately, unlocked. It seemed that Ivan believed in them by letting the door unlocked. Arthur then run from the room as fast as he could with Yao in his arm. His angel was still sleeping from the exhaustion and mental strain. His eyes were swollen. His face was white. But he looked peaceful and from their bond, Arthur sensed that Yao trusted him to let the man do anything while he was sleeping.

Arthur bit his lips until it bled, refraining himself from crying and howling in disappointment. He is going to give Yao up, after several months of happiness. He knew he wouldn't last long, since he is planning to die anyway. What matters now is to pass Yao to Yong Soo. Kiku was missing, but Arthur guessed he would be in the baby room. Kiku's disappearance aids his plan to server their bond. After Yong Soo takes Yao, then he will find Kiku. Maybe. If something happens to him before then, Arthur was sure Francis would do something. The French man was a softie for kids. He will do something to help the baby.

The corridor was in chaos, from failing debris and cracked floor and heat from explosion; but there was nobody there. Arthur knew it wasn't his luck; it was the plan. He has given the Eastern Tower the blueprints of the Tower, giving as many details as he could, and advising the Eastern Sentinels to enter from the dungeon underneath the sewage instead of the Entry Hall. The rest was planned by the Easterners, emphasizing on giving Arthur enough time to get Yao out from the room to the specific room in the third floor where Yong Soo would take Yao from him there.

He was being a traitor to the place he had called home since he was small; the only home he knew. All for Yao. Very cliché it may seem, for Arthur it was worth it. Yao was his everything as the man has shown him happiness and joy being in a loving family. He knew if he lost Yao there would be no turning back, and he'd rather die. And yet, on another side, he was trying to be selfless. He loves Yao, he wants all the best for Yao and the best for Yao means nothing of Arthur in his life. Arthur only brought misery for Yao, so this time, Arthur will let go.

Trying to control his emotions, Arthur jumped down the stairs, reaching the third floor in no time. So far there were some other Sentinels running passed him but all of them didn't pay Arthur any attention, since everybody is panicked about the attack. Sentinels may have heightened senses, but they were naturally bred for protecting, so when a danger arrive, they focused solely on saving their 'protégé' and not paying attention to anything else. Arthur managed to subtle Yao's Guide pheromones by wrapping the small man in several thick blankets and then covered them with his own smell.

The room was bare for him to see. In normal situation, the room was a big living room with several furniture for everybody use. But today, it was filled with ruin and fallen concrete, small fires and smoke.

"Arthur Kirkland, here!" a sound called to him, and Arthur looked to the voice's source.

The Eastern sentinel appeared and held his arms towards Arthur. "Is that him?"

Arthur nodded, and then he bends down his neck a bit so that he could whisper in Yao's ear. He needs to severe their bonds now.

"Yao…wake up."

Yao slowly opened his eyes, and tried to stay awake for Arthur. "Arth..?"

"Yao, listen carefully." Arthur closed his eyes for a second, preparing himself from the pain, and then spoke out. "I… I killed Kiku. Kiku is dead."

Yao's eyes became wide and he shot up, but Arthur didn't let his arm cradle go. He knew he is infliction fake pain in Yao, but he needs to otherwise Yao wouldn't willingly destroy their bond.

"What do you mean, aru!"

"I can only safe you and Kiku was too much of a distraction. I killed him. I have betrayed our initial agreement. I killed your baby. So now… now I want you to severe our bonds."

It was true that they could server their bonds simply because they did make an agreement beforehand. Although it was nothing lawfully binding, it was kind of mental conditions included in the base of their bond. By killing Kiku, Arthur destroyed the foundation of their bond and made it very weak even when it was already consumed. Very weak bond is easier to server.

"What are you talking about, aru?" Yao shook his head, clearly stressed and in confusion. He wasn't even coherent enough to think about Arthur's words. _Arthur just promised to make him safe, protect him. He would do no such thing_. "What do you mean Kiku's dead?"

"I killed him."

"Don't lie to me, Arthur."

"I.. will never lie to you." Arthur lied.

Yao was frozen. The pain in his chest and head made everything hard. And he started to cry. The betrayal and pain hurts their bonds, and Arthur felt the anger and disappointments trough their bonds. Pain. Disbelieve. A bit of trust. And this was the time. He needs to do this.

With all his might, Arthur mentally pulled their bond, yanking it hard.

"NO!" Yao screamed, but the act was already done.

Arthur felt his chest was physically very painful. As if something yanked his heart and he couldn't breathe for a moment. As if he was having stroke. Francis has warned him about it. The pain was really unbearable. He couldn't breathe, and the pain was immense. All he wanted to do was to smash his head hard to the wall. He saw that Yao, too, was shocked and in pain from the severed bond, while unconsciously tried to mend it. Before Yao could do anything, Arthur pushed him away, shoving him to Yong Soo before he smacked Yao's face, hard.

With the shock, Arthur managed to take over the control of their bond and severed it so hard.

Both of them felt the despair. They lost their bond, their mate. Their chest felt hollow and for the moment, Arthur felt his blood turned into ice. His limbs were shaking and he was filled with despair. No nothing matters anymore. He wanted to die. He had lost his mate. He wanted to die. He wanted to kill.

He almost lashed to the Eastern man holding his beloved Yao, but somehow he managed to keep himself in check. Arthur then staggered and ran away, as quick as he could, from Yao and Yong Soo.

"Thank you." He heard the Eastern Sentinel shouted behind him, but he could not turn back. No. he has lost Yao. It is better for Yao like this. He would be saved.

And in front of him stood enraged Ivan.

"…Why?" was the only thing the Russian man could say in the middle of his anger. He saw what happened. He went to the room to find it was empty, and he feared the worst. But he didn't suspect Arthur of anything at all. Now he knew from smell that Arthur was as good as unbounded sentinel, meaning Arthur severed the bond between him and Yao. That beautiful bond, the bond Ivan was trying to protect, was lost. Broken. Ivan knew it meant Arthur felt like dead, enraged and most suicidal. Yet, by giving Yao to the foreign Eastern Sentinel, Ivan realized who was the inside spy.

That beautiful bond was broken and betrayed by the moronic lowly green-eyed sentinel.

Ivan couldn't control himself any longer. The cold rage filled his mind. And he roared.

"…WHY!"

"..I love him more than anything." Arthur growled and started to attack. "I won't let you use him like a slave!"

"Idiot." Berwarld hissed and took his stance too, but Ivan signed him to move away.

"He is mine, da? You go and get Yao, that Eastern Guide they took."

Noticing that Ivan alone was enough to kill the lowly Sentinel, Berwarld continued to run and chased the Easterns to the other side of the room.

Arthur tried to stop him, but Ivan's hiss made him stop.

"You are mine, and you will fight me." Ivan said darkly. "Goodbye, Arthur Kirkland."

* * *

><p>The explosion shook the room, and many babies started to cry out loud.<p>

Ukraine was at lost, unsure what to do. She wasn't the only one in the room, though. The French man by the side of Kiku looked around for help too, and realized he was the man inside the room before finally ordering Ukraine to save as many babies as possible. Ukraine nodded and straightaway pulled some of the screaming and crying babies around her, collecting two bundles of babies into one cradle, putting another one and filled the crib with four babies before pushing the crib out of the room. There were around 10 babies left, and she saw Francis took Kiku and another baby with him in another crib.

"We need to find someplace safe to place them and then comes back." Francis looked around. The corridor in front of them was filled with falling concrete and it was clear that it is not possible to push any crib through the particular destroyed corridor.

"Here" Suddenly a voice whispered beside Francis, and A blond four-eyed man appeared beside Francis. "Follow me."

* * *

><p>Well, everything happens in this chapter. I am not promising happy ending. I really planned this only for 3 chapters-5 at most, and now it is already 12.<p>

About the Princess and the Pirates story, I have finish writing my parts, but my cowriter lost the chapter and so far I have gotten no reponse from her. So if you want to continue it, please tell me.

Well, review? Thanks!


	13. Chapter 13

Finally! Thank you for the wait!

This is betaed and co written with Blind_Alchemist! Thank her so much, without her this chapter would never go out (I had the basic idea, simply lazy to write it out. ehe)

Enjoy!

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><p>When he woke up, Arthur was amazed on how stubborn a survivor he was. He was still alive, after being thrashed by Ivan all over the room. The last thing he remembered was the cracking sound produced by his own head smashing into the wall—he'd been thrown head first into the side wall. His limbs had all been broken before that—and Ivan had been having fun while snapping his joints into impossible angles.<p>

He looked around to find that he was in a small room that emulated simplicity. It was quite bare, with a single table, two chairs, and many medical tools that were mostly connected and hooked up to various parts of his body.

"Thank God you are awake now."

Arthur turned to see a lady with blonde hair and the biggest pair of breasts he'd ever seen. The Sentinel only had seen her once before, but he knew at once from the rumours that that rack belonged to Ivan's older sister.

"What…" His voice came out harsh and rough; evidently he had not been speaking for so long. The lady came to him with a glass of water.

"You were in a coma for two weeks. During that time, your vital internal organs almost shut down. Thank God you managed to pull through and now you are awake."

"Why? Where am I?"

"You are in my house." The lady smiled and she put the rim of a drinking glass onto Arthur's lips. The wetness was like a blessing for Arthur, and he drank the water as fast as he could.

"Slowly, please. Do you want more?" the lady asked again. Arthur nodded.

"Who are you?" He asked once he had quenched his thirst.

"I am Ukraine. I think I know your name… Kiku's father, right? The Sentinel called Arthur Kirkland?"

When Kiku's name was mentioned, everything suddenly came back to Arthur in a flood of memories. The memory of severing the tie between him and Yao. The subsequent agony. The craziness. The fight with the Russian. The pain of his limbs being broken. The pain of colliding with the wall. The darkness.

He had failed everyone. He was an utter failure. It was his fault. Now he'd lost Yao and Kiku.

He had lost everything.

"Why are you bothering to help me!" Arthur couldn't control the volume of his own voice and he shouted at the poor woman. Ukraine visibly cringed and cowered back, but she braced herself and answered.

"I helped you because of Kiku. Please, save him from the Tower. He is still too young to be caught up in this horrible war. And with his other father, Yao Wang, gone, you are the only one he has. This is my place, and you are safe here. I have told nobody where you are and nobody knows where I live."

"What about your brother? I know you are Ivan's sister!"

Ukraine looked sad for a second, before immediately glancing away. "He… I haven't spoken to him since the day I found you. He doesn't know about you, rest assured. I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him… ever since that day. He is still mourning the loss of Yao Wang from the Tower."

Arthur was silenced. He never realized that the big Sentinel (and Guide Hunter) actually treasured Yao that much. He remembered how the man had actually growled at him, telling Arthur to give more care to Yao. He remembered how gentle Ivan was with Yao. And how vehemently Ivan's anger had exploded when he realized that Arthur had forcibly served the bond between him and Yao.

As though she were sensing what Arthur was thinking, Ukraine spoke out. "…It is not your fault, Kirkland. My brother holds an idealized view of familial bonds; this is really all my fault. Especially since Belarus was killed in the attack three weeks ago."

"Belarus?"

"My little sister." Ukraine smiled sadly. She started to cry, but hid her tears behind her hands. "I am sorry, I need to refresh myself in the bathroom… please drink some more water if you need it… I'll be back… Sorry."

Arthur watched as the lady departed from the room. He closed his eyes, lost in thought. He understood the feelings of utter despair and sadness. The lady had recently lost her family, just as Arthur had lost his. But Ukraine had actually reined in her sadness and had actually _done_ something: she'd helped Arthur, at her own risk, for the wishful purpose of saving Kiku. Arthur bit his lip. Yes, he should do something as well. It was useless to drown oneself in despair over everything that had occurred. Now the only thing he could do was to look forward and do whatever he could to somehow make everything better.

* * *

><p>It was not an easy recovery. His left limb was completely useless, as some of its main nerves were severed during the fight with Ivan. Now Arthur could only lift his left forearm, but his fingers and wrist would be completely limp. But that aside, he could still feel some sensations like warmth, and pain (but not pressure) in his left arm. That alone was enough to drive him completely mad because Arthur could sometimes feel the phantom pain or pressure, but didn't know how to regain control over his own hand.<p>

He could still walk, thank God, but he was not as agile as he used to be. Furthermore, his 'blending' ability had been compromised: since he couldn't control his left arm, when his body blended into the air and turned invisible, his left arm could still be seen, dangling like a ghost's arm in thin air. It proved a major disadvantage to him, and when he realized what was happening, Arthur felt his morale slipping even lower.

His other body parts were mostly covered in bruises and cuts, but this was not a big deal. However, this was not the case for his eyes; the vision in his left eye was compromised and now it only could differentiate between lightness and darkness. He could no longer see clearly with it.

Ukraine helped him as much as she could throughout the rehabilitation process, but she was just a nurse and together they worked out a not-optimal-but-still-satisfactory schedule. During the first three months, Arthur remained positive that he could return to his optimal condition and maybe his arms would both regain their blending abilities. But as time passed, it was clear that Arthur couldn't make his left arm usable for blending anymore, and it frustrated him beyond belief. Especially now that his spine was even more sensitive.

Apparently during the fight, Ivan had twisted Arthur's body in such a way that his spine had cracked. They'd only realized this when Arthur continued complaining about the pain after three months in rehabilitation—and by then, it was too late to treat. Especially after Arthur had undergone the heavy rehabilitation process. His spine was now permanently twisted and had less physical endurance. After half an hour of work, Arthur would start to feel a great, excruciating pain in his back that could only be soothed with strong pain killers and rest for the rest of the day.

Feeling more and more hopeless each day, Arthur fell into a deep depression. His mind started to become hazy; illusions would appear before him, such as when he suddenly felt as though Yao was standing beside him and smiling, or when he thought he heard Kiku crying. When he saw that nobody was in the room, he felt so forlorn that tears threatened to come to his eyes.

Sometimes he would hear Yao calling him only to find it was actually Ukraine, calling him for lunch. To make matters worse, it wasn't as though he wasn't grateful for all of Ukraine's help, but sometimes he couldn't control his own temper and would lash out at the poor woman. Especially whenever he mistook the woman for Yao. Arthur would shout at her and call her names, only to realize his mistake, and Arthur would end up apologizing for the whole day afterwards. Fortunately Ukraine was willing to forgive him every single time, for she herself felt that she deserved the berating; she had lost her little sister and felt that she had not been able to properly guide her little brother. Arthur knew she was feeling guilty, and he tried his best to reduce Ukraine's guilt. But so far he was getting nowhere as he also felt guilty about the whole business. Both of them were permanently broken in a way, and two broken people could support each other only so far and so much.

Furthermore, both of them were in a way suitable company for each other. Arthur was hard and silent, whereas Ukraine was meek and talkative. Throughout the time they were together, they started to become more comfortable around each other. Because Arthur had lost his income when he was expelled from the Tower (and currently he was listed as a dead person) he was unable to come out of the house and he didn't have money to support himself. Ukraine was the one who supported both of them, mostly from using her savings, as well as from nursing/babysitting duties she did for the neighborhood children.

The area in which they lived was in the countryside, a bit far from the cities and the front lines of the war. It was more peaceful there than in the cities, but poverty was imminent. So far Arthur and Ukraine were able to support themselves by raising some chickens and maintaining a corn field. And they stayed there for the meantime.

* * *

><p>Three years passed quietly; and some kind of feeling developed in the confines of Ukraine's heart. The feeling was directed towards the silent brooding man beside her, reading and trying to push himself to the limit; the silent, hump-backed man who always assisted her in taking care of the chickens and tending the field; the silent injured man who always tried to treat her nicely, albeit not always gently. Arthur Kirkland was a man with a (wife) partner and a son. But they had been living together for two years now and frankly, it was normal for Ukraine to develop some feelings toward the Sentinel.<p>

She remembered the fateful day of their meeting, in perfect detail. Ukraine had fished through the debris to find her little brother completely giving in to his insanity. Ivan was laughing hysterically at nothing as the dead body of a dirty-blond man lay at his feet. Ukraine watched in horror as her brother suddenly launched over to her and grabbed her neck harshly. He suffocated her as he lifted her off her feet, until her body was hanging in the air. It was only due to Berwarld's intervention that he stopped, and then he seemed to realize he had nearly killed his own sister. Ivan had then left with Berwarld to catch the Eastern Sentinel who'd captured Yao, and left Ukraine alone by herself.

Sobbing, Ukraine suddenly saw that the dead body of the blonde man was actually moving on its own, groaning all the while. Realizing that the man might still be alive, Ukraine went over to help the man straight away and, using the intercom connection, had called for Francis Bonnefoy.

The French man was beyond devastated when he saw the body of the injured man and had asked Ukraine to help him carry the body to his room. Ukraine had helped hoist up the man, and Francis then informed her of the identity of the man: Arthur Kirkland, Kiku's father and Yao Wang's bonded mate. After applying emergency first aid, she was aware that her medical ability was too limited to babies and infants, so she decided to get Belarus to help her. She called for Belarus through the intercom, but there was no answer.

Worried, Ukraine went to search for her sister, only to find the bloodied body of Belarus trapped underneath the rubble concrete that used to comprise the ceiling of her own office. Ukraine had screamed, and she'd rushed to her sister's side. Belarus's face looked scared and pale, whispering her last words:

"_Sister… help me."_

Ukraine was frozen as Belarus uttered these words, and then Belarus let go of her last breath. Her body went limp. For a few moments, Ukraine was unable to react, and then she fell onto the floor, her legs unable to support her. It was beyond her worst nightmares. Belarus was gone. And then she heard some sounds behind her. Ivan was there. Her brother had seen the dead body of their littlest sister. Ivan howled so loudly. His voice was filled with sadness, an agony of grief. Ukraine wasn't even able to offer comfort to him, for she herself was still trying to absorb the fact that their littlest sister was no longer with them in the world.

It was then that Ukraine had felt she had failed her own family: her own sister had fallen dead underneath the concrete. Belarus had asked Ukraine to save her, but Ukraine had remained useless and frozen. She had failed to rescue her sister. And her brother became a wreck as well: from both the death of Belarus and Yao Wang's kidnapping. From that moment forth, Ivan had gone completely insane—and he ended up being permanently locked inside one of the asylums in the Tower.

Ukraine felt completely helpless, as she was powerless. She tried to talk to Ivan, to give him some kind of comfort, to act like the older sister she was. But he ignored her, or didn't seem to even hear her, and would only keep chanting Yao Wang and Belarus's names, like a broken record. Ukraine had eventually resorted to begging him, but Ivan continued to completely ignore her. Ukraine had then spiraled into despair and helplessness. She was unable to help her brother—he just wouldn't listen to her. Ukraine finally understood that Ivan didn't think of her as a dependable sister. Now the three siblings were all broken up, while Ukraine, as the oldest, had done nothing to help her little siblings.

That guilt and sadness, as well as the disappointment of being ignored by her own brother, made Ukraine feel as though she deserved nothing less than death. She decided that maybe she could resign and run away from everything. But before that, she decided to visit the new baby room, where she would say goodbye to all babies she had been taking care of. It was then that she spotted Kiku, the most adorable baby in the room, smiling and waving his little arms at her.

Ukraine finally broke down right then and there: her tears fell uncontrollably. The little one was so unfortunate. Kiku had unknowingly lost both his parents, and the baby was still smiling at her, as though she actually mattered to the baby. The despair in her heart was soothed by the innocent acceptance from Kiku. It was then Ukraine swore she would help this child, no matter what.

She decided that perhaps the best way was to help the boy's father. She followed Francis's directions and successfully smuggled Arthur Kirkland out of the Tower, with the help of Matthew Williams (the one who'd helped them gather the babies to a safe place). She returned to her nest in the countryside and had nursed Arthur back to life.

Arthur's precarious health conditions and the challenges in nursing him back to health had brought a welcome distraction to Ukraine. Now she just needed to concentrate on Arthur and maintain his well being. It took her mind away from everything else. Arthur was sometimes harsh with her and would yell at her; Ukraine took it all in stride, because she felt that on some level, she deserved it. And besides, this was all for the small Kiku. Francis has promised her that he would take care of the little Guide.

But Arthur's presence in her everyday life slowly infiltrated into her heart. More and more often, she'd wish that Arthur would look at her and realize that she was there. It felt very odd and even added to her already heavy load of guilt, but sometimes she would catch herself hoping that maybe Arthur would fall in love with her. She was already besotted with his small smile, his gentle good-night wishes, and his tendency to always help her whenever she needed him. Arthur could be very kind, and even though the man was a bit of an invalid; still, Ukraine felt as though Arthur were more than adequate enough to protect her.

Alas, she knew it was impossible. All that time, at every single moment, Arthur's mind was obviously filled with images and memories of his family. Or to be more exact, images and memories of Yao Wang. Sometimes, when she caught him off guard, Arthur would call her by Yao Wang's name. Honestly it hurt her, a bit. And Arthur was getting better and stronger each day, but remained quite obsessed with taking Yao Wang back from the Eastern Tower. Arthur mostly spent his nights studying blueprints of the structure of the Eastern Tower as well as its security system, and even cultural and informational texts and books that he could obtain about the Eastern world.

Ukraine would watch him in silence. Well, all she could do was silently support the man. She should realistically never hope for more.

* * *

><p>On the other end of the war and the world, a tall, well-built, black-haired Eastern Sentinel named Yong Soo was entering the room he shared with his supposed mate.<p>

The Guide inside the room didn't acknowledge him with much of a warm welcoming gesture. The beautiful man only nodded and took Yong Soo's coat, and hung it on the hanger by the wall. He then showed Yong Soo the way towards their private kitchen, where dinner was ready. Yong Soo bit back his bitter scowl, realizing that his daily wish was crushed once again. It seemed as though he could never make Yao smile at him. He wished for it every single damn day, but he never had gotten his wish. It seemed that today would be no different.

Yao Wang had basically turned into a living statue ever since that day three years ago, when Yong Soo had taken him from the Western Tower. The Eastern Guide was still as beautiful as ever, but there was no life behind his eyes, or in his face. He looked almost like a wilted flower, and he was noticeably thinner than before; he wouldn't eat or sleep if he weren't prodded and forced. Yong Soo had used all his resources to cheer Yao up; but the man would only watch him from behind an emotionless mask. Yong Soo had tried to bribe Yao with delicious food, nice silk clothing, and other earthly valuables; but Yao had shaken his head at the gifts and refused them all. Yong Soo treated Yao as gently as possible, often letting the golden eyed man have anything he wanted. The only drawback from that strategy was that Yao never asked for anything. He'd even tried to pamper Yao with massages, and even sexual activities, but Yao had welcomed his advances like a dead fish. The beautiful man regularly looked pale, and a frozen, expressionless face seemed to be permanently implanted on his lovely face ever since that fateful day from three years ago.

Yong Soo had also tried to explain to Yao, in their first week of living together, that he wouldn't be forced to receive anyone. The Eastern Tower was not as barbaric as their Western counterparts'. He explained that Yao had the freedom to choose whomever he wanted to bond to. But Yao _needed_ to choose; otherwise, he would have to go with the arranged choice made by the Elders in the Eastern Tower. Sadly, Yao never gave an answer. At the end of the third month from the day of his rescue, Yao Wang was arranged to bond with Yong Soo. And so, now Yong Soo was Yao's official mate. Yet, so far, Yong Soo felt they were nothing like true mates.

True, Yao healed him easily every time Yong Soo needed it. Yao tolerated his touch, although they'd never gone all the way. Yao slept in the same bed, and they shared the same room. Yao even took care of him sometimes, like a spouse. But he never, ever saw the beautiful Guide smile at him. Yong Soo never felt as though his feelings were being reciprocated.

When confronted and asked what he ultimately wanted, Yao always answered the same thing: he wanted his baby back. There was a sadness in his eyes as he spoke, and Yong Soo knew, deep down, that it wasn't only his baby Yao wanted back. He wanted that Western Sentinel as well, the one by the name of Arthur Kirkland.

Yong Soo had eventually overcome his pride and conflicting emotions to search for both of them, the baby Kiku and the Western Sentinel Arthur. But so far he had only been able to gather some basic information. Yao's son, Kiku, was being kept in the most secure part of the Western Tower. Furthermore, because of the devastating attack from several years before, both Towers were in the midst of a very strained relationship. To quell tensions, the Elders from the Eastern Tower had actually opted to present the Western Tower a peace offering in the form of Kiku. So in essence, they'd let the Western Tower keep Kiku (under the condition that the boy wouldn't be harmed or forced to bond with Sentinels before he reached at least 14 years of age) as compensation for Yao Wang, the Guide they'd taken from the Western Tower. At first, the Western Tower's greedy leaders had refused to accept, and had demanded they return Yao Wang to them as well, but the Elders had stubbornly held out, pointing out that Yao was basically Eastern Tower's true Guide. Arthur Kirkland was the one who'd first kidnapped Yao Wang. Thus, the blame did not rest solely on the Eastern Tower, because the entire debacle had been started by one wayward Western Sentinel.

Yong Soo had explained this all to Yao, and the man had wept in silence for one entire night. Yong Soo knew that Yao's sadness was perfectly justified. He would never be able to see his son again. With the agreement between the two Towers solidified, Kiku would officially become the Western Tower's property, and as a Western Guide, he would never be able to leave the Western Tower ever again. It hurt Yong Soo somuch to see his mate in such a pathetic state, but he couldn't help him, as Yao just wouldn't let him in. Furthermore, Yao seemed insensitive to his touch.

Another important matter was regarding that ex-mate of Yao's. Arthur Kirkland was reported as _deceased_; his body was reportedly buried alongside the many other victims from that fateful day, three years ago. Yong Soo didn't have the heart to ever tell Yao. True, Yao never mentioned that man or ever gave any visible indication that he wanted to bring up the topic. The beautiful Guide pretended to forget everything about that man; but from the occasional bouts of sleep talking from Yao, Yong Soo knew that Arthur Kirkland had stayed in Yao's heart, and in his dreams.

Everything was messed up, as Yong Soo was trapped between his feelings of wanting to give the best life had to offer to the love of his life, and the dark jealousy of his mate's previous family members. Yao clearly wasn't ready to receive him, and maybe, he would never be ready. But Yong Soo was already head over heels for Yao. And it hurt so much to know that, in Yao's mind, he accounted for nothing.

He felt helpless. All he wanted was just to make Yao smile at him, and it seemed to be the hardest thing in the world to do.

Fate was too cruel to him.

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><p>The boy grew into an adorable little boy with dark hair and obsidian eyes underneath long lush eyelashes. He became the child of the Western Tower, famous because the Tower never had any children Guild. Everybody wanted to see him. Some spoiled him, some adore him, some ignored him after they realized that he was an Eastern and the other hated him for being Eastern. The boy was guarded very closely by his pseudo-father, Francis Bonnefoy, and thus so far, nobody dared to harm him. Kiku also told since day one that Francis wasn't his real father. He didn't really care, though. For him, Francis was good enough.<p>

The Tower offered precious little in the way of shaping the childhood of a normal four-year-old. Kiku was allowed to play in the glen surrounding the base of the Tower, and go swimming in the moat, but wherever he went, he was continuously accompanied by two hulking adults, usually bodyguard Sentinels under Francis' harem. Whenever he was hungry or thirsty, the Tower cook would hastily provide whatever his heart desired. But he rarely was able to associate with children his age, even the small batch of children who also resided in the Tower. The few times he was permitted to, although the other children would talk to and eat with and sometimes even shares jokes with him, they also appeared afraid of him. None of them wished to be his friend.

Thus, the boy was forced to be content with the silent and the lone time he had. And whenever he had the time to think, his mind always wondered back into the memories of so long ago. And those memories also filled his dream.

Kiku held onto a single memory of his real father, although in his dreams he did not know that the beautiful, ethereal person was his father. He spoke of the memory to no one, and when he thought to put a name to it, he called him Jade Man, because of the white, finely chiseled features of the person's face.

The dreams always began the same way. There would be nothing but darkness, and then Jade Man's face would suddenly appear, beaming at him. They would be lying together, only the two of them, sometimes in a simple linen bed, or sometimes in the dense lushness of a forest floor—Kiku would be held safely, enveloped within silk-clad arms. Jade Man's face would smile at Kiku as he cradled him, but the child would suddenly sense anxiety behind the smile, and see that the golden eyes were actually deep in tears. The man's gaze would drift and he would start looking off into nothingness, whimpering and making soft, weak little cries, which would become irresistible to Kiku's ears. Kiku would reach out with a soft pudgy hand and start touching the man's hair, his drawn eyelids, reaching out and stroking, at times withdrawing his fist coated in tears. But Kiku's continued caresses in the man's long dark hair would soothe him, and the man's soft cries would eventually taper away into contented sighs. Father and child would huddle closer together as the man's lids would fall lower and lower, Kiku's tiny fist clutching a lock of dark hair.

It was at that point the dream sequence would go awry. A giant yellow-haired figure would come in, but what he did next was indecipherable and could only be described as a series of loud shouts, embraces, and jostling movements. He would rumble as he'd move past Kiku and seize the Jade Man, who'd make noises that spoke of pure fear as the giant yellow man pinned him down. But then, as the giant yellow-haired figure would start touching him more and more gently, the Jade Man would stop crying, giving in to his embraces. The dream always ended on a bizarre, random note; sometimes the Jade Man would stop noticing Kiku once the giant yellow figure entered the picture, sometimes the giant yellow figure would pick Kiku up to go for a walk and the Jade Man would kiss him goodbye—

"Baba!" Kiku would scream upon waking from the dream, but only silence would answer him.

Although he was still too young to begin schooling, Kiku had a 'Normal' Tutor of sorts, who wore square spectacles and would sometimes play simple melodies on the piano for the child's amusement. His pseudo-father wanted to make sure that Kiku had to learn the basic of math, writing and reading suitable for his age (which, currently four). The Tutor appeared to be betrothed to the only female Sentinel in the Western Tower; this female, Elizaveta, would sometimes bring sweets for the child, and even work as a nursemaid to Kiku when needed.

"You are important to the Western Tower," Roderich Edelstein, his Tutor, had explained to him once, "and we expect great things from you someday."

But Kiku did not want to be important to the Tower, was not interested in providing great things for them. He was a precocious child who was aware that he was living a privileged life, and yet he was desperately lonely. He wanted to be someplace that he could truly call home, although he didn't know what "home" was. In his darkest moments, he only wished to hide and be comforted again, in silken-clad arms.

And then one day, there was some puzzling news. There was a certain group of Sentinels who patrolled the halls, who he'd become deeply wary of. Their gazes seemed to linger little too long on his small body whenever he passed them in the halls of the high Tower, and when one of them had spoken once, his voice had emulated fear and killing and aggression. Recently, this group had seemed to increase slowly but surely in number, and was congregating in the halls more often.

One day, after dinner, Kiku decided to head back to the mess hall earlier than usual for dessert, and spotted this group trampling towards him from the mouth of the mess hall. Kiku slid behind a corner as the group stopped in its tracks, shuffling and muttering amongst themselves. Mutely, the boy eavesdropped on their conversation as he waited patiently for them to pass.

"It's true," the leader, the one whose voice spoke of death, was saying. "They're negotiating with the head Eastern Sentinel for a special favor. They really don't know their own line. Not only they attacked us first, now they demand a special visiting right."

"What's visit?"

"The cute one. The Guide, Yao Wang. Word has it that the Easterner wants to let him see that traitor Kirkland's grave."

And the name felt so familiar…

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><p>to be continued.<p>

review?


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you to Blind_ALchemist for this new chapter! She is wonderful, I tell you. and Congratz to Kaya! Hehehehehehe. Love you both sooo much.

By the way, I know that Hetalia fandom is decreasing so fast, but at least give me some encouragement? It was discomforting to find that no one actually read the new chapter. Just say hello is enough. or thank Blind_Alchemist.

Enjoy!

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><p>"<em>It's true," the leader, the one whose voice spoke of death, was saying. "They're sending the head Eastern Sentinel over here, to grant him a special favor."<em>

"_What's that?"_

"_The cute one. The Guide, Yao Wang. Word has it that the Easterner wants to let him see that traitor Kirkland's grave."_

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><p>"I thought you would be happy to see Arthur one last time," Yong-Soo was saying. Yao sat with his hands folded in his lap, looking out the window. At the sound of Yong-Soo's voice, Yao turned his head mechanically, as though on a hinge; stared into the Eastern Sentinel's eyes. The two of them sat in silence for a while, and then Yao's gaze returned to his lap.<p>

They were gambling. They both knew what happened. What wasn't said behind those words. Yong Soo wished to show Yao the reality. The reality where Arthur Kirkland, his old lover, was dead. To show Yao that it was time to move on. And of course, Yong Soo woul come forward as the best choice. Yong Soo was being cunning. Or maybe he just wanted to see Yao's smile so much. It hurt him to be constantly reminded how his love would never be reciprocated.

Yao, on the other hand, was deep in his own gambling. He had continued living in a lie, a make believe world where suddenly Arthur would jump from nowhere and took him away. Like all those sappy romantic stories he heard from his mother long time ago. Like the greatest love story of the East. Or maybe he just wanted to run away from the reality, since having the person matters most to you died because of you hurt too much. And if, if he took Yong Soo's offer, he should face the reality: That Arthur was dead, he was alone, Kiku was gone and he needed to learn to love Yong Soo. The Sentinel who had protected him for years and yet Yao couldn't bring himself to love. He needed to move on. And he was ready for it… or not. Who was ever ready to move on? The pain only dulled with time—never went away. How do people move on from their pain?

"Yao." The Guide looked up then, startled; Yong-Soo's eyes were red. Instinctually, with the innate senses of a Guide, Yao leaned forward towards the man; but he did not offer comfort, did not even touch him; only closed the gap between them. "I've thought hard about our life together…" Yong-Soo's voice trailed off. "…I want to say, I'm sorry for what's happened to you. I truly only wanted you to be safe, and to be happy."

Yong-Soo's voice was heavy and his tone was sincere, excruciatingly so. It just cemented Yao's feeling on the man. He knew, so clear, what yong Soo felt towards him. And Yao should be happy. He was worshipped like a Guide should be. Yet… those green eyes haunted him every time.

Yong Soo continued, noticing Yao's pensive eyes. He had enough dancing around Yao's feeling. He wanted more. He couldn't be selfless anymore. He had done everything he could and now Yao should move on. Yao needed this, and God knows how Yong Soo needed Yao to move on. "I thought I was doing the right thing. I did not know I was destroying your family." His voice shook. "I would undo it all, if I could. But you need to move on."

_And look at me. _

Yao's heart sank. Those unsaid words were so heavy in the air. Yao truly wanted to do so. How easy would it be if he could just take Yong Soo's hand and move on? To love a man who loves him more than he love him? He wanted to reach out and take Yong-Soo's hand then, but he could not. Tears pressed into the corners of his eyes, threatening to fall.

"After we visit Arthur's grave, I plan to give you your freedom," Yong-Soo looked away, watching the paintings on the wall. "I will let you go where you please within the Eastern Tower. Maybe even let you have a job. Wouldn't that be nice?" Yong-Soo's smile turned slightly cold and bitter then, as he studied Yao's face. "The staff is very good. You've been there long enough to know protocol quite well, too. If you need help, I'll see that you get it. Can you say I've not treated you any worse than your precious old Western Sentinel?"

Yong-Soo resumed studying Yao's face. Yao started as Yong-Soo leaned forward and practically thrust his face into the Guide's.

"Your old lover Arthur is dead, Yao. You have to accept it."

Yao clenched his teeth, hating the words coming out of Yong-Soo' mouth. It was taking every ounce of Yao's self-control to not unclench his fists, to keep from leaping up, throwing open the carriage door and dashing outside, to keep from weeping until he cried his throat out. He showed nothing and said nothing.

"You have hurt me so deeply with your unhappiness—out of all the people in this war, in this entire world, only _you_ could hurt me like this. Please, Yao, _wake up_. Stop pushing away those who are trying to help you."

A tear slipped from a corner of Yao's left eye.

"Won't you love me?" It might have been a whisper, the voice was that soft.

Yao's head shot up.

"Won't you please _smile_ at me?" Yong-Soo's voice was louder this time. Yao paused, hunting for the right words to break his silence.

"Thank you."

Yong-Soo stiffened at Yao's response. Yao spoke again, his voice still small, but less shaky, more solid.

"I've been stolen away, again and again; first from the only home I knew, and then from the only man I've ever loved. I've been taken from my only son, the last family I have. Since you have taken me to the Eastern Tower I haven't had a full night's sleep. In my dreams, I am surrounded by dozens of Sentinels who see me like a piece of meat, wanting my so called power and defile me without my consent, again, again and all the want was—"

The Eastern Sentinel sitting across from him flinched.

"—my nakedness, and never my soul."

Yao looked Yong-Soo in the eyes then, whispering, "Thank you, for caring for me so deeply."

"I love you," Yong-Soo said.

Yao turned away without giving any sign that he'd heard.

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><p>"The little Guide, Yao Wang, and the Eastern Sentinel plan on arriving here the day after tomorrow. Late in the morning is when they're scheduled to arrive." Kiku pressed his head hard against the wall to listen, even though the rough brickstone hurt his ear. "I heard through the usual channels," the rough voice continued, almost nonchalantly. "If we get rid of the Eastern Sentinel and make it look like an accident, we can snatch that pretty Guide and keep him for ourselves."<p>

"Stupid!" One of his cohorts interjected. "Why would the other Eastern Sentinels ever believe such a lie, that we killed him by accident?"

"You're the foolish one. That particular Eastern Sentinel, Im Yong-Soo, is strictly forbidden from ever visiting this Tower. That was the one of the stipulations during the peace talks with that damned other Tower. If we are ever to catch him here again, whatever happens afterwards cannot be blamed on us—and furthermore, we can say that we rightfully took into custody the prize that he brought with him."

"Then it's settled," a third voice chimed in. "Tomorrow, at oh-six-hundred, we'll have a sniper and his regular backup ready to observe the graveyard from the northeast point of the Tower. Take at least three Sentinels and one of the Hunters to keep watch over the Guide as they are led to the graveyard. At my signal, the sniper will aim towards Yong-Soo, and immediately after we shoot him, the three Sentinels and Hunter will swarm the Guide. Try not to kill whoever leads them there if they are Western Tower personnel, but if they get in the way, then it's no holds barred."

There was silence, but Kiku could picture the others nodding in agreement. His heart was thundering in his throat. He had only the vaguest idea who these two, whoever the rough Western Sentinels were discussing—the Guide, and the Sentinel Yong-Soo—but they sounded like they were definitely in grave danger, and all for only visiting the grave of an old friend.

_Guide. Yao Wang_.

The boy turned on his heel and stole down the hallway, away from the gaggle of tall, fearsome-looking men. Halfway through the corridor, he sped up, nearly tripping over his clumsy, pudgy feet. He didn't stop running until he arrived in his private quarters. Roderich was there, sitting at his ornate desk, penning something in his music sheets. "Kiku!" his tutor exclaimed, placing down his sheets at once, "what's the matter?"

Kiku didn't speak until he caught his breath. "Master Edelstein," he began slowly, "I heard there was to be a private ceremony tomorrow, held in the cemetery gardens."

Roderich froze, visibly surprised and—distraught? "I see," he said, carefully and deliberately. "Where did you hear about this?"

In his unsettlingly adult-like way, Kiku brushed this question off. "I would like to attend it."

Though he might hold the lofty position of High Tutor, Roderich was still under the precious future-Guide's command, and was required to follow the little Guide's every order. "I'll see what I can do, Kiku."

"That always means no," Kiku said at once, resorting momentarily to the child he truly was. "Teacher, I would like to attend it, if only from—far—far—"

"From afar?" Roderich finished, and he played with his pen as he visibly relaxed. "We can certainly view it from the East balcony, Ki—"

"No. I want to be in the main crowd. Front and center."

"Why do you insist on this so much? I know," Roderich said, trying to sound enthusiastic. "Why don't we go to the libraries instead and watch a play? Or go swimming?"

"There's something I must see, Teacher. I overheard about the ceremony in the cafeteria; it was another Sentinel, standing nearby, who brought up 'Yao Wang.'" Roderich dropped his pen. "I have to see him. That's an order." Kiku had never issued a direct order to his Tutor before.

Before Roderich could open his mouth to respond, Kiku added: "And you can't tell anyone else about this."

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><p>Yao bit down at his internal scream, steeling himself as best he could against the overpowering wave of Sentinel auras crashing into him from every direction. But even against an experienced Guide like him, it taxed him so badly he had trouble stepping out of the carriage. The guard Sentinel helping him down from the carriage grew sober as soon as he took Yao's hand, his eyes shining, and as Yao stepped onto the thick grass, he could practically feel the waves of lust pulsating from the man. It made him feel light-headed and want to vomit.<p>

The Eastern Sentinel pulled Yao to the side and whispered in his ear. "Wait here," Yong-Soo looked in his eyes, and swiftly departed while calling out more loudly, "I'll be right back."

Glancing around the compound, Yao's heart sank. Despite the presence of heavier ivy covering the walls and the appearance of some new faces in the castle staff, he could see that the Western Tower hadn't changed much at all since he'd last been here, several years ago. Returning to the very grounds where he'd been imprisoned and raped repeatedly, and where Arthur had been murdered, was like re-living his deepest, darkest nightmares.

He had to remain strong.

"Where are you from?" The guard whose eyes were full of lust asked him nonchalantly, as though he were actually truly interested. He was standing merely inches away from the Guide, hulking over Yao's much smaller form. And Yao wondered again. How bad was the Western Towers, for all their Sentinels were more unsettled and uncontrolled compared to Eastern Tower? Why was that every Western Sentinel he met always watch him in lustful eyes? Was there not enough Guides?

_Was that one of the reason why Arthur took him? Not because Arthur wanted him—it was just because Yao was conveniently there—and for him to take. Because of the need and lust, not because the emotions? Maybe Yao all along was romanticizing the whole memory about the man?_

Catching himself in time, Yao scowled. He was trying to detach himself from the memory of Arthur Kirkland already. He started to question Arthur now—maybe he was ready to move on. And when he thought about it, clearly the initial reason why Arthur took him was because Yao was an unbonded Guide and Arthur was a lustful, unbonded, needy Sentinel.

"The East," Yao replied carefully. He was wondering what was taking Yong-Soo so long.

"Whereabouts?"

"_Dalou_."

"Hmph. Never heard of it."

"You would like it," Yao replied out of politeness, "I miss it there."

"What about him?" The Guard jerked his head in Yong-Soo's direction. "Is he from that area too?"

"No, he—" Yao didn't bother finishing as he spotted Yong-Soo coming back up the hill, flanked by two more Guards.

"I feel out of my depth, talking to you," the Guard resumed. "I was a soldier in the Western-Eastern War, and here I don't even recognize where you hail from."

"It's okay," Yao said, keeping his eyes trained on Yong-Soo's approaching form. "I'm not too adept myself, at your history."

"I was only there last year," the Guard said bluntly. "I wager I'm even younger than you."

Yao looked at him more closely then. He had fine brown hair and his melancholy pout struck him as boyish, all of a sudden. His frame was fine-boned and fit, after all. Whatever he had endured in battle had apparently added five, ten, fifteen years onto his true age.

"Be careful today," the Guard then cautioned. "I can feel an ill wind that'll blow nobody good."

Yao stared at the man for a moment before feeling Yong-Soo take his slender arm. "Th-thank you, Mister—" he fumbled.

"Antonio," the Guard replied. "Antonio Carriedo."

"Yao, let's go," Yong-Soo urged. At that moment, a light rain began to fall.

"You're still as the beautiful as the day I first laid eyes on you," Antonio said in a tone too low to be overheard, as Yong-Soo and Yao departed towards the gates, "the time we first stole you from Kirkland."

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><p>When they arrived at the cemetery, there was a small crowd there to lead them in through the hedges. Yao kept his head bowed, not sure of what to expect; his footsteps, already hesitant, seemed to feel heavier and heavier. Meanwhile, the light rain had ceased; sunlight glistened off the rows and rows of polished white tombstones.<p>

"Welcome." The Sentinel greeting them smiled an oily smile, and led them with a single hand into the gardens surrounding the main cemetery. Without a moment's hesitation, Yong-Soo went in, pulling Yao Wang firmly after.

But there was something wrong. There should not be such a strong Sentinel aura here, not surrounding them from every conceivable side. They were only there to pay respects to a grave. Why was he feeling hostile auras from around the entire vicinity of the cemetery?

"Yong-Soo, we have to go," Yao said, the hair on the back of his scalp prickling.

"What is it Yao?" Yong-Soo sounded almost exasperated. "We made it here. There's nothing to worry about now."

"You don't understand! There's—"

Yong-Soo gave a cry as Yao threw himself at his chest, tackling him to the ground. But he was off by a mere microsecond—the bullet pierced through Yong-Soo's right arm, letting loose a flying stream of blood. Yong-Soo did not cry out as he was hit, but his face turned ashen and his eyes rolled towards the back of his head.

"My God!" somebody shouted. Yao felt someone wrenching him upwards by the collar, away from the Eastern Sentinel. A huge Guard Sentinel yanked him to the side; flecks of Yong-Soo's blood flew from Yao's fingers all over his uniform.

"He's down! He's down!" the Sentinel who had been guiding Yao and Yong-Soo inside, barked at his subordinates. "Get them out of here!" Two guards surrounded Yong-Soo and grasped his arms and legs, lifting him up.

Flailing, Yao cried out in alarm as one of the muscled arms holding him twisted one of his thin arms expertly behind his back. Another curled around his throat, winding tighter and tighter around his jugular, attempting to knock him out with a sleeper hold.

"Stop!" a tinny voice came out of nowhere. The sound of it made Yao's heart stop.

The startled Sentinel holding the Eastern Guide stopped applying pressure to Yao's Adam's Apple. A pair of little pudgy feet dashed as fast as they could towards the two of them, and did not halt until they were directly in front of them.

"Free his arms," the voice, now out of breath, ordered. "I want to look at him."

It was a child, with shiny black hair and a small, moon-shaped face. As Yao stared at the child, tears flooded furiously from his unblinking golden eyes. They poured like a spigot down his chin onto his clothes, though his facial expression, as well as his entire body, remained frozen in place. A lock of black hair fell, unheeded, over the beautiful Guide's face now glazed in tears.

"…Kiku?" he managed, when he could get his mouth working.

The child stared back at him, dumbfounded. His eyes widening to the size of saucers, his jaw fell unhinged, although no words came out.

"Kiku?" Yao said, his voice breaking. "Is it really you?"

"Who are you? Why do you know my name?" The boy looked surprised for a moment, but just before he was pulled up like a kicked puppy by one of the Guard.

"Who let this little Prince in? Roderich, that scum." The Sentinel growled. His eyes were red and his hair was white. He watched as the boy struggled, and the Eastern Guide fighting against his captor.

"Release Kiku, aru! Don't hurt him!" Yao screamed, hands were already out to scratch his captor, while he unconsciously released his Guide calming power. And like it was on cue, every Sentinel in that place dropped their senses, eyes closed and they became docile—like they had been drugged by a super recreation drug.

Yao took his chance and grabbed Kiku from the white haired Sentinel. The boy wailed, but no sound came out from his throat. Yao's arms were crushing him into the effeminate man's bosom; yet somehow Kiku didn't mind at all. It felt so nostalgic.

He knew those arms, from long time ago.

"Kiku… Oh my Kiku…" Yao whispered, enjoying the child in his arms. Yes, his baby was alive. And when suddenly one of the Sentinel dropped to his knees, Yao was forced to come back into the reality.

He quickly took Kiku's hand and grabbed it as hard as he could, then kneeled beside Yong Soo.

The man was, fortunately, gaining his consciousness. The shock from being hit by the bullet was immense, but Yao's sudden burst of calming power reduced the pain and thus, awaken him. It gave him the opposite effect of other Sentinels. And he saw Yao with a boy.

Yao's baby.

"Are you ok, aru? We need to run. Quick!"

Yong Soo groaned, but he steeled himself and took hold. Once he could stand, he held his breath and grabbed both Yao and Kiku into his arms.

"Hold tight."

By that, he rushed out from the cemetery as fast as he could, with his injury as well as the additional two humans inside his arms.

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><p>Belgium didn't know whether she should curse or bless the day he went to the farm to find three unconscious bodies on the outskirt of the woods.<p>

TBC.

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><p>Review? As I said, please thank Blind_Alchemist for this chapter! Thank you for reading!<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

And the last chapter. Seriously, this is the last.

One thing. What happened to the politeness and the unspoken law of reviewing? These days I swear I hate people who reviewed with so many swearing words like ' s h i t' or 'c r a p' or their equals. Cant people just be civil and review using nice, polite words? I need a polite honesty.

Enjoy.

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><p>Ukraine didn't know whether she should curse or bless the day she went to the farm to find three unconscious bodies on the outskirt of the woods. She had been making her daily rounds in the fields, and had only stopped to dip her hands in the nearby stream bed. To her utter shock, she spotted a long-haired woman, a small child that looked to be under the age of six; a tall, well-built man lying next to each other, and the smoking remains of a campfire, all situated on the banks of this almost dried-up stream bed. The three strangers were clearly Easterners.<p>

"Hello there!" she shouted as she walked towards them, sounding more confident than she actually felt. "Are you alright?" she resumed, one hand itching towards the handgun secured to her belt. "Are you _alive_?"

"Ahhh!" The tall man raised himself up so that he was sitting up. Blinking, Ukraine stared as the man dusted himself off, and slowly turned around to face her. His warm brown eyes met hers at once. After a moment, he cleared his throat.

"Madam," the Eastern spoke haltingly in the Western tongue, "we mean no harm at all. We are just passing through, camping here for the night, and we mean only to return home once day breaks."

His tone was deep and masculine, reassuring; yet a tad cautious. Ukraine immediately trusted him, feeling herself relax.

"Who are you?" she said, lifting her hand off her belt.

"My name is Yong-Soo, and this is—"

Ukraine gasped. "Yong-Soo, the Eastern Sentinel?" She looked him up and down greedily, her gaze stopping on the crude bandage around his upper arm. "You're hurt. You need medical attention—"

"Thank you, but I'll be—"

"—come with me," she interrupted firmly.

Yong-Soo balked, but she added quickly, "You'll be safe with me."

A branch snapped, and it was only then Ukraine truly studied the other two. As Yao stretched and rubbed his eyes, she realized the Eastern "woman" was an unusually lithe male, about her height, pretty as a white lotus blossom, and about as pale—with the most beautiful face. His golden eyes were alarmed as he scanned between Yong-Soo and the mysterious woman. And Ukraine knew him. She has seen him—in the day she accepted Kiku, that day she struck her Ivan for raping another, the day everything broke down.

"What's going on?" The Guide asked, oblivious of Ukraine's chaotic mind.

Ukraine quickly snapped shut her hung-open jaw. "You're a Guide, aren't you?"

Yao didn't reply, but he reached out and drew Kiku closer in his embrace, peering at her more defensively now. "Yao," Yong-Soo said then, "it's all right. She seems to be trying to help us."

The gorgeous Guide started, "Please don't—"

"You're Yao Wang, aren't you?" Ukraine drew in a breath sharply. The Guide had grown even more beautiful than when she'd last seen him; his inky hair was now currently trailing past his knees. He looked way better than a mess she saw in the ravished bundle on the bed. Yao appeared to be fighting the urge to panic; he glanced over at Yong-Soo, pleading with his eyes in a silent bid for help. The Sentinel caught on immediately.

"You know each other?" Yong-Soo said, astonished, as Yao picked Kiku up and moved closer to the Sentinel.

"I—I'll never go back to the Tower," Yao finally stammered, glaring at Ukraine, "_never_, do you hear me?"

"Yao," Yong-Soo said sternly.

"I'm not here to take you back!" Ukraine replied quickly, throwing up her hands. "I'm a fugitive now, too. And…" She trailed off, biting down hard on her lower lip as though contemplating a very hard decision. Yong-Soo cocked his head at her quizzically.

"…I suppose that it is only right that you should meet him."

"Who?" Yao said at once.

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><p>As he stared into the flames, Arthur ceased his tending to the fireplace and sat back on his palms, ignoring the shooting, irritating pain in his hips and shoulders. When a spark flew from the fireplace and landed too close to his leg, he scooted backwards on the puncheon floor, crying out as the pain hit him with full force.<p>

Was this his ultimate fate as a Sentinel? Had he managed to ravage the world of the warring Normals—skillfully picking off everything that walked on two legs, tearing down the remnants of the old, decayed empire—only now to see it slowly fall back into chaos? Since his absence from the front lines of war, there had been no peace or prosperity. No freedom. Nothing whatsoever had improved; in fact, things had gotten worse.

There was no hope.

"They threw it all away," Arthur seethed between clenched teeth. "They thought I was dead, and they threw it all away." He slowly reached out and cradled his head in his hands.

Was he not unlike the embers of this fire he had been coaxing, surviving only on borrowed time—managing to pull off a brief, glowing, brilliantly murderous career in his youth, and then, slowly but surely, a pathetic, whimpering death?

"Why couldn't it have all died with me!"

The door creaked open then. Arthur's head turned slowly, his sore neck muscles protesting, as he stared at the soft, womanly shape of Ukraine slipping inside the cabin. "You're back," he said, his voice coming out in grunts. "What took you so long?"

"Arthur, there's someone I want you to meet." As she spoke, a tall figure came out from behind her.

Arthur's eyes widened to the size of saucers as they fell upon Yong-Soo's towering form. "You," he mouthed, but no sounds came out. In turn, Yong-Soo turned pale as a sheet, as though he'd seen a demon.

"It can't be," Yong-Soo babbled, his brows furrowing. Raising his good arm, he pointed towards the prone Sentinel. "You're dead!"

"And yet, here we are," Arthur grinned dryly, slowly getting to his feet. "Well," he said, "are you here to cause trouble in my house? Because I'm ready to take you on any—"

"Yong-Soo, I saved him when the Towers fell," Ukraine interrupted, reaching out and placing a firm hand on Yong-Soo's upper arm. The Sentinel stiffened at her touch. At that moment, a little boy with black hair waddled over and hugged at Ukraine's knee.

"Arthur," a soft moan was heard then.

Arthur grasped at the back of a nearby chair and held onto it for support. "What?"

Slowly, as though moving in a haze of a dream, a figure swathed in white came around from behind Ukraine and Yong-Soo. As Arthur's eyes scanned the figure, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints, his mouth fell open, "No. NO."

The figure in white flew towards the bent Sentinel, and in a few moments Arthur's previously entangled fingers were freed from the chair. Disjointed, the Sentinel threw up his arms and tried to fend the figure off. "NO! Stay away from me!"

"Arthur. Look at me."

The face that had appeared thousands of times before in Arthur's imagination materialized in front of him; even sweeter and lovelier than he had seen in his mind's eye. "It can't be," Arthur spoke again, in a weaker voice, and he clasped one hand over his own mouth. "Very funny… someone out there has got a real sense of…"

"You lied, didn't you? I always knew you were alive," Yao cut him off, and the dam broke; tears streamed down his face. "I always had—faith—"

Arthur couldn't reply right away, could only focus intensely on Yao's face as though afraid to tear away his gaze; the silence was punctuated only by Yong-Soo's rapid, nearly hyperventilating breathes.

"Yao, where have you been? My little Guide, where have you been all this time?... "

Yao opened his mouth again as though to speak, couldn't; Arthur held out his arms.

"Shhh. Come here."

Ukraine hadn't moved a muscle since Yao had swept inside, but her eyes filled with tears as Yao practically melted into Arthur's embrace.

"Between you and me," Ukraine whispered to Yong-Soo, as they watched Arthur enfold the beautiful Guide within his arms, "there's something infinitely stronger than the mere bond of a Sentinel and Guide between those two..."

Arthur held Yao close. The scent. The nostalgic warmth in his arms. He couldn't believe himself. Yao was there, in his arms.

"You are alive." Yao whispered in desperation, and naturally he released his Guide power. Arthur embraced those power, and slowly, their ruined connection was mend. It was almost very smoothly, as if their souls knew each other too well and they were just been separated for a single second.

"Yao. Yao." Arthur hid himself in Yao's hair. "My Yao."

Ukraine felt somehow something changed. The air, the atmosphere. They were heavier, and saturated. Yong Soo who was standing beside her suddenly fell down, his legs shaking.

"Are you alright? What happened?" A bewildered Ukraine panicked and pulled the Sentinel onto one of the old chairs available. The Eastern Sentinel scowled, hiding his face in his hands.

"They are too … I don't know. Yao had never gives me such calmness… this… This is why I need to give up. I am not Yao's meant partner." Yong Soo suddenly sobbed into his hands. Ukraine saw no tears, but the tone just as well showed how torn the Eastern Sentinel was. "I can even feel it from here. Damn… Why not me?"

Ukraine smiled sadly at him. She kind of understood how he was feeling. She was, after all, in love with Arthur as well. And looking on how content Arthur was at that moment, she knew she has no chance. Not a single chance.

Kiku, meanwhile, forgotten in the corner, waited and watched as the adults immersed in their own business. His mind was still in chaos, but he was sure that he knew all the people in the room. He knew his Papa. He knew the man who was hugging his Papa as well. He knew the lady, and he was saved by the Eastern man. He knew everyone in the room, yet he felt alienated.

"Papa…?" He whispered.

Yao snapped from Arthur's embrace and turned. His smile assured Kiku that he belonged there.

"Come here, my son."

And Arthur smirked at him as well. "Eh, the baby has grown up. Hello, Kiku."

Kiku blushed. He walked towards the couple, but was pulled harshly and crushed in the middle of the group hug that included the man he called Papa and the man who hugged his Papa.

Kiku knew he belonged there. It smelt like home. It felt like home.

He was at 'home'.

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><p>Note: All Hail Blind_Alchemist sama! Finally this story is finished, and all these were written under her skillful mind! (plus, of course, the wine, nee?) *blink* I cannot express my gratitude over this chapter, Blind_Alchemist sama, and the way you still stay despite my impoliteness and grouchy attitude today. You are just the most wonderful cowriter ever.<p>

To my readers, this marks the last of my hetalia writing. As you may be aware, I am into Harry Potter and Avenger fandoms now. I love Yao so much, but this is already passed the fling and I am sorry to say I have no imagination left to keep this passion alive. Thank you for staying with me.

What will happen next in this story was as follow: Ukraine and Yong Soo became a couple; they lived together with Arthur-Yao-Kiku family under the threat that was the Tower. I can continue, but I don't promise happy ending. This is the happiest open ending I can provide.

Review, please, over the whole story, so I can improve. I honestly don't know that this will turn into a… 15? Chapters story. I was aiming for three, five at most.


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